The Force Unbalenced
by Skywalker666
Summary: Two brothers born form the force, born to Shmi Skywalker, Christen and Anakin both have destiny following them like a shadow, will they stay on course, or will they lose everything. M for strong language, sexual scenes and gore
1. The Origin

p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Prologue /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"52 BBY, Tattoine/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen was walking down one of the many streets in Mos Eisley on Tattoine, in his case, from the Hutt's barge, span style="background: white;"Grudulla/span./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"It was one of the days where he would have to be a servant, and most importantly the entertainment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Not In the way you think./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He entertained the low life scum under the Hutt's./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"But he was through fighting and being tortured, like some caged animal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen was one of the few people that could survive the Hutt's torture tactics, so it/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"became a weekly thing./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"His mother never knew that this was how he was keeping his family from being sold to different slavers. So while his insides may hurt from ruthless beatings, his spirit yet never broke for this very reason./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Walking towards his family's chosen home, Christen could sense something was wrong./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He sometimes usually got such feelings, like when he knew he was in for a torture session./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Running towards the house, seeing that the front door had been kicked in, he could hear/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"a scream that he knew belonged to his mother./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He ran even faster into his home looking frantic./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He ran towards his living room, where he could see several men, though not all were human and one/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"was a Torguta male./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He was known by the name of Carson. He was a slave smuggler of his own/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"kind. Other than that, the other men were unknown to him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Shmi was lying down crying, curling in fear as men covered her body, pinning her to the ground./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"She stared straight into her sons eyes, clouded of fear, but couldn't do much as the men kept pinning her down./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The young, four year old Anakin started screaming. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen felt overwhelmed, confused but most of all angry. Angry on just what this low life of a planet as done to so many, to so many innocent souls./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He wanted was for these men/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"to pay, and as he did the only thing he could do at the moment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He closed his eyes, wishing and just imagining they're bodies caving in/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"on itself./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The anger was billowing up and escaping his mouth through a force scream that/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"shattered all of the glass that was in the area. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Opening his eyes, Christen felt heat radiating from inside./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He felt his eyes gushing in tears, running down his face were it seem to sizzle and evaporate at touch./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He then reliazed the scene before him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"There were seven men standing before, and now there only lay pieces of their bodies scattered on the floor of/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"his home./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Blood soaked the walls as his eyes met the still lying figure of his mother, who sat up, and was looking straight at him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen looked at her, and his heart seems to break when he/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"finally realized his mom wasn't looking at him like a mother would, no...she looked at him like she was seeing a monster./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The fear coursed through him, and seem to expand as he could be sensed from what Christen could only/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"describe as an energy, seemily surrouding itself into everyone and everything in the universe, but he could only see it now through his mother./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen stood up, backing away from the others. His face was ridden with/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"disappointment and fear, not daring to even think of the blood he has just spilled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He ran, ran until he forgot why he was running./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He felt a sharp/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"pain radiating throughout his body, and as he stopped for a breath, he could tell it was the slave location chip/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"embedded into his skin. He felt the familiar feeling before after all, but he was in too much shock to care./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Energy ripped through his body, it literally seem to rip his skin from his body, as he tore out his slave chip in the process./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen then looked to the sky, realizing now he truly had no idea where he is./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He felt like ages as he walked, trying to look for shelther of any kind./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"According to a local Wiseman, he was better than most of his own species, saying Christen was a gifted child./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen thought about it more as he kept searching, having the ability of night vision, a sixith sense, the way he could...he shook his head, no, he wasn't going to remember that./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He decided to climb over one of the nearby sand dunes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He growls as he feels yet more sand coursing through his leather-ish boots, " I fucking hate sand it's/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"rough, course, and irritating and it gets all over."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He then reaches the top, looking in the distance where he could see more sand dunes and thinks, "Great...just great."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He then sees an object sticking out from under the surface, and runs towards the object./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Taking a good half hour before reaching it, Christen could finally see that it was part of a/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"ship. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"It must have been old, because from what Christen could see the design looked to/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"be from older models, pre-dating even the junk on Mos Eisley. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen tugs at the metal/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"satellite, at least that's what he's calling it for now./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He tugs as hard as he can before giving up, noticing that maybe the whole ship was under the sand./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen ponders for hours on a way to get the ship out of the sand, as the twin suns start coming up on the eastern horizon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Thinking back to when he killed those men, he felt this sort of energy, a power that came through him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;""Maybe I can lift this ship out with the energy I used before." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Quickly standing up, he faced the buried ship, while thinking of the energy, or rather the force./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He could feel his thoughts drift to his mother, and remembered her face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He became saddened, but/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"more than that, angry./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Sensing the power rising, as he got more emotional, he concentrated on the object before him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He could feel the force that surrounded him. He could see, or rather feel the outline of the/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"ship./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Mentally grabbing the ship, Christen tried as much as he could to lift the ship./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"But he became more frustrated as it didn't seem to budge./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He screamed, unleashing a surge of power./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The ground beneath him/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"exploded, as he ripped the buried ship from the sand throwing him back./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The last thing he could remember was the sound of his breath, before everything went black./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Opening his eyes, he slowly starred straight into the high suns of Tatooine./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Blinded for a moment, he groaned in pain as he tries standing up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Wobbling, and falling over/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"during his first attempt, he is faced with a desert of sand. He turns around and almost blacked out again from the surprise of the Star fighter that stood in front of him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He wondered if he lifted this out before he blacked out. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Rather than trying to figure out/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"his problem, Christen jumped up to open the cockpit, seeing that the inside was/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"completely intact./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"It seems this craft was left here basically in its prime, as he could not see any use for the ship./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen finds a hallway which had 4 doors as he walks to the back of the craft./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"From what he could see, this ship seemed thousands of years old yet, the technology is far surpassing to anything Christen had ever seen in his life./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Opening the first door on the left, he entered gasping, feeling the force bursting from this room. Entering and turning on the lights, he/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"could do nothing but stare, as the room was filled to the top with what he could tell were/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"hundreds upon hundreds of Holocrons. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He closed the door as he quickly entered the next/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"room. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Not thinking things could get more confusing, he sees that the second room, also/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"bursting with force energy feelings, was filled with data pads, and what he could guess were books/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"and scrolls. He picked up a nearby scroll that was peeking out from the top shelf in the back of/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Upon opening the scroll he could see the writing of some language, yet he/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"could not understand. Realizing they were important, he put the scroll back./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Leaving the room to cross the hall to the next room, he expected the same burst of the/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"force./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Instead he got a dark surge of such power, which felt evil and angry./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Feeling some confusion, Christen could still sense it was the same energy that he has always felt, almost familiar in a sense./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"After fully opening the door, he looked into the room that seemed to be empty, except for the/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"one black object that stood in the middle of the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"It was surrounded in the color of fire, and as he came closer, the colors seem to vibrate more, and now looking into the object more, he could see it was a staff./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Reaching for it with his fingers he could feel, even at the tip of his hand, the memories of everything the staff has been through./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Screaming in shock, Christen backs away, eyes wide with fear./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Confused at the visions he just saw, Christen returned to the staff and grabbed it again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"He expected feeling a more powerful sense of fury, along with more pain and suffering...instead, when the visions rampaged through his mind, along with the surge of pain, anger, and evil that the staff brought to the surface. His mind became clear and the storm that is the force, had calmed to Christens will. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Placing the staff back to its standing position, he turned and walked from the room confused, yet/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"empowered and proud to be in control of such powerful objects. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Closing the door he tried/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"opening the last door, but found it was locked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Trying to force the door open, Christen concentrated, and with the force unlocked the door, figuring out that was the only way to open this room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="font-stretch: normal;"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Apon entering the room, he could see the glowing hue radiating from a singular holocron, yet this one was levitating, right in the middle of the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen could tell this holocron was different now, as the feelings it portrayed were more different then other ones across the ship./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Rather than being a shape, the holocron looked more like a giant force crystal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christen/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"collected force stones and crystals, but had never seen anything like this./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Walking/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"towards the object, he reached out to hold it, but before he could touch it a holocron, a/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"mysterious man appears, making the boy jump back in fright, as he looked upon the stranger./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"The man, between the age of fifty and sixty, spoke, "I am the/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"gatekeeper of this holocron of the dark Lord Sith, Tuluk Hord." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Christens eyes felt like/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"they popped out his head. A Sith Lord? He only been told tales of such beings, never thinking they were truly real./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"After a bit, finally gaining back some sense of control, he spoke to the/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"man./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;""I am Christen Skywalker; I would like to learn your teachings". /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Looking towards/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"the holocron, Christen knew the man heard him as he spoke in a dark voice with it seemed as much power as the crystal itself, "You wish to/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"learn the secrets of Tuluk Hord?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"Pausing for a moment, Christen could feel a push on his/span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"barriers, suddenly feeling a presence inside his head./span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"As soon as it came though, it was gone. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-stretch: normal;"span style="font-size: 17.0pt; font-family: '.SFUIText',serif; color: #454545;"It was then the man spoke again, "You are worthy of my teachings young one, this will be the first day of your journey."/span/p 


	2. Breaking The Force

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and that this one doesn't disappoint.

If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and like the story as it is much appreciated!

Christen- 30

Abigail- 34

Amber- 14

Lucian- 12

Crystal- 12

Damian- 10

Emma- 13

Galen- 13

Julie- 9

* * *

Pain, that's how most people would describe what Christen was feeling. Standing there, chained

to a pole, in nothing but rags of caked blood. His master's stand surrounding him; they shock him

with force lightning relentlessly. His eyes were closed, but as they stop to afflict him one last time,

He opens them. They're glowing lava orange. Blood drips from them like tears. He screams as

the glass around the room shatter. He stands up despite against the seemingly eternal pain as his

masters shock him once again, He looks upon the faces of his torturers. He glanced down at his

hands with surprise as sparks of orange force lighting seemingly burst from his skin. Surrounding

his hands crackling, and sparking wildly, looking up He tells me to remember this day, this is the

moment of his pure power. While engulfed by the force, He is suddenly rampaged with a vision.

He realizes he is on Tattoine, he stands in the middle of a Tusken village he feels a giant amount

of pain and anger in a hut. He strides over into the hut, not ready for what he sees, and watched

helplessly as his mother died. He could see his brother Anakin holding her.

His view suddenly shifts outside and he sees flashes of Anakin with his lightsaber killing Tusken

raiders. More flashes blind his eyes momentarily as new pictures of Tusken raiders torture his

mother. He could feel she was close to death. His vision ends as blasts of lightning crashing into

his chest ripping him into reality once again. Every hit is absorbed, finally releasing all his pain,

anger, and love into a repulse of energy, orange lighting striking every living thing in the room.

Force storms form all over the planet as the blast ripped down the rooms, walls making the

temples collapse. The lightning bolts obliterating all his masters, ravaging the planet and

destroying himself in the process. His body explodes all He could feel is the force. He curiously

could still feel his body. He tries pulling himself back together, the pain is beyond anything He has

experienced, He screams, as his body is binding itself into the person He once was. He doesn't

remember when He stopped screaming. He soon realized that his body is covered with glowing

lava colored scars they are everywhere except his neck and face. He felt the force radiating off

the scars. Sensing that they will always be there as a reminder of all his training on this horrid sith

graveyard. He knows he needs to find a way off of this planet. He tries to stand up every part of

his body is on fire. When finally getting his balance he is naked, cold and angry. He looks around

as he sees the ruins of the temples as far as He could see, but it was just a wasteland of ruins

now. The wind sharply cuts his skin. He searches the ruins for a way leave until it's time for him to

return. While thinking about how to get off this rock, He remembers of a hidden underground

bunker. And suddenly a thought hits him, what if his master's meant for him to kill them, maybe it

was a way of officially completing my training.

On the deserts of Tatooine, Anakin stands there, holding his dying mother in his arms. He senses

an anger bellowing up inside him that he never felt before. It's inviting and he grabs for it, as a

soothing rage fills his mind. He thinks of the Tusken raiders, what they did is unforgivable. He

thinks to himself, "I will release all of my anger in an explosion of the force." Setting his mother

carefully on the floor, he walks out of the hut, tears streaming down his face, and eyes bloodshot

with hatred. As he ignites his lightsaber the blue hue radiates around me, he strikes down the two

Tusken raiders, guarding the hut, with ease. He looks up to see raiders running towards him on

all sides, but he strikes every one of them. Every one that comes towards him is sliced in half.

Raiders start to run in panic away and he throws his lightsaber, decapitating two of them. With

five more coming, Anakin uses the force to lift a boulder to hurl it at them, squishing them. The

sounds of breaking bones and muffled screams fill the air. As he destroys the rest of the village in

a fit of rage, every Tusken he kills makes him see his mother's face, tripling his anger. Being

surrounded by bodies of men, women and children he feels proud knowing these beasts could

not hurt anyone anymore. As he stands there, all he can think about is his mother and the guilt he

feels for not coming back to see her like he promised. He believes he could have prevented her

death. He fears losing anyone else he loves. At that moment he decided he will do anything in his

power to keep the body her ones he loves from dying. Anakin walks back inside the hut and

wraps his mother's body in fabric he ripped off some of the huts and Tuskens. He carries her to

the speeder crying and mourning the loss of his mother.

Christen makes his way from his master's chambers trying to recollect memories of where the

bunker is stopping first to collect his holocrons and other possessions from his room. He walks

down the main corridor seeing the ruins of the blast he created. Staring down at his arms he

traces the lightning scars with his finger. He looks up to find himself running right into the doors

and uses the force to slide them open. Christen walked over to the storage room where he kept

all his armor and weapons. He starts taking everything off the shelves and packs them into

emergency bags in case he ever needs them again in the future. He ends up with a total of twelve

large luggage packs weighing upwards of two hundred and fifty pounds. He quickly returns to

searching for the bunker while using the force to carry five extra storage bags for future finds on

his journey. On his way out he collects all his scrolls and holocrons and checks every room

making sure he doesn't leave any knowledge here. Ready to finally head out, he remembers all

the twists and turns to help him use the quickest route to the bunker. Christen found the door to

the bunker near the end of the third corridor adjacent to three ancient Sith Lords tombs. He

already knew everything about the Sith Lords buried on Korriban because he raided the tombs

during the first few months he was held against his will on Korriban. Taking everything in, he was

glad to realize they didn't destroy his ship.

He created this vessel from Mandalorian iron and his own mind. It can carry a total of three hundred

people crammed in. The ship has been enhanced through his own Sith alchemy so it can withstand harsh

attacks from much larger and more powerful ships. His ship is nearly indestructible. He steps onto his ship

and starts to put all his equipment away. After finishing unpacking he heads to the center of the ship so he can send a message on his holocron. As he turns it on he sees a holorecording from some Captain Zero. When he finally decides to watch it the man says, "I am Captain Zero, I have kept this army in check while

we've waited for you. I have a data pad with lists of information on your army for you to go over; I also

sent you the coordinates to get to Tython so you can start as soon as possible. We are all waiting for you

to take command so we can follow your protocols." After watching this recording Christen decided to visit

his family on the planet Hapes before he starts his journey. While setting the course to Hapes he recalls

the last time he saw them and the sadness on their faces when he left.

It was around midnight, when 8 year old Julie wakes up to feel the forces whirl of power and

anger. She has a strong sense from where and who the power is coming. Digging deeper into

the force she sees a stranger, but feels a deep connection and realizes this man is her father.

Feet pounding on the floor she runs to her mother's room yelling, "Mom, wake up, dad is alive!"

When she looks around the room Julie sees all her siblings sitting on the bed screaming in pain.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a confused voice. Abigail looks down at her daughter crying tears

of pain and joy and with a shaking breathe says, "I thought he was dead and was about to give

up." Julie asserts "Everything will be okay mommy!" Abigail whispers," How are you not in pain

Julie, can't you feel the wound in the force?"

"She hasn't been trained yet mom, she can't feel it as well" says Amber, the oldest of children

"Damian just started his training a few weeks ago." Abigail looks at Julie and sees her confusion

and decides to explain everything about her father the training she will start when she turns ten.

"Mommy, I saw dad chained to a pole, he was screaming in pain, people were hurting him

mommy!" Julie says crying into her mother's shoulder. "What do you mean Julie?" Abigail asks. "I

was sleeping and saw dad screaming in pain!" she cried. Crystal looked down at her younger

sister and said, "She probably had a force vision mom." Abigail ponders the idea and decided she

was probably right. "Alright, why don't you all try and get some sleep tonight, good night children."

Christen preps his ship for takeoff and goes over all the maps and data Captain Zero sent him.

When he's finally out of the planet's gravitational pull he sets his course to Hapes. After checking

on all the equipment and finding everything is in good condition, he decided to go his meditation

room and plan out what needs to be done on Tython, and what his agenda will be. As he has

done hundreds of times before he recites the Je'daii code: "There is no ignorance; there is

knowledge. There is no fear; there is power. I am the heart of the force. I am the revealing fire of

light. I am the mystery of darkness, in balance with chaos and harmony, immortal in the force." Now as he

travels to his destination he thinks back to the eight years of training, two hundred battle droids firing at

him five shots per second. He deflected every shot with two double bladed lave orange lightsabers whose

crytals were created by the powers of his own Sith alchemy.

After a few hours he would switch to ten droids coming at him with practice blades, each with a

different fighting style. Putting on armor as a way to imitate a real fight; the armor is made from

enhanced Mangalorean iron, able to withstand countless attacks from a lightsaber. During training he

mastered the seven known fighting styles and five forgotten fighting styles, and created his own called

Indicts. This involves aggressively attacking multiple enemies and has an almost impenetrable defense.

After meditating Christen decided sleep for a stretch of thirteen hours since he would be traveling in

hyperspace. When he awoke Hapan's were shouting at him and demanding to know who he was. He told

them he was the Queen's husband, but to keep his arrival quiet, so it would be a surprise for her. They

finally let him go and apologized for shouting. He forgave them and went on his way. Landing in Ta'a

Chume'dean he noticed a few republican ships in the spaceport. Gathering what he needed, he then put

on black robes and covered his face with the hood. Walking through the streets, he stopped and asked the

nearest worker "What the fuck is going on and why are there republic ships in the area?" Telling the man

the last time he was here was eight years ago, the old man laughingly coughed. Christen glared at him so

he nervously stated," The republic came to the planets aid when there was a Chiss blockade around the

planet." Thanking him, he headed towards the palace feeling happier then he has felt in years. Two guards

stopped him as he was walking through the palace, because they thought he was there to inflict pain.

Using the force he instructed them to go fuck a woman and have a drink. Laughing as he walked away he

entered the palace doors and was instantly surrounded by the smell his wife. He could sense his wife and

others in the throne room, but kept my presence hidden. He knew his wife was in the throne room,

probably talking to some governmental bitch. He takes a deep breath while he enters the room. After

taking several steps into the room, he finally sets eyes on his beautiful wife seeing she is as beautiful as

ever covered in silken fabrics and native jewels. Hair done up in an extremely beautiful design. That's

when she looks up curiously without emotion. Not knowing it was me as I walked further into the room

she bellowed in her intimidating voice "Who are you sir?" He takes his hood off and looks her in the eyes

and says, "I'm just looking for Abigail. Do you know where I might find her your highness?"

Abigail froze as her emotions twisted and bounced from happiness, sadness, and horror. Completely

forgetting about her meeting she stared into the eyes of her husband, with tears springing from her eyes

she ran from her throne and jumped on top of him. He was startled by her reaction. "You fucking asshole,"

she screamed crying as she jumped on him causing him to fall. "Oh Christen are you OK" she said through

the tears. Laughing , Christen pulled her to him without answering her question. He kissed her as if he

had not seen her in hundreds of years. They slowly get up completely embarrassed as they look over at

the senator she was talking with. "I'm so very sorry senator Umiak, but I do thi-" Senator Umiak

interrupted her; "I know the story of your husband my queen. I will take my leave, please contact me to

reschedule our meeting". And with that, senator Umiak got up from his seat and walked from the throne

room, leaving the two lovers alone.


	3. Getting to run the family life

**Hey everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the second chapter**

 **If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and like the story as it is much appreciated!**

* * *

"A little higher, just a little…yeah, perfect. Now hold it still," said Christen. Galen held the light steady as his father stuck his head under the hood of the phantom he brought from Korribon. Galen was an excellent mechanic himself, best of his siblings, but even he was stumped. So he decided to leave it in the hands of the expert. Fifteen year old Galen idolized his father in every way. More than that, he considered Christen one of his best friends, and felt that he could tell him anything. Well, almost anything.

"I see what the problem is," Christen said from under the hood. "What?" Galen asked. "Someone forgot to change the ignition fuse," he replied, standing up again. He cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't I remind you to do that last week, Galen?" "Yeah, I guess I forgot," the boy replied.

Christen shook his head, his oldest son reminding him so much of himself at that age. But he won't take the same path that I took, Christen reflected. I'll see to it that none of my children do.

"It's not like you to forget something like that, Galen," Christen said as he rummaged through the parts drawer for what he needed.

Galen shrugged as he took the part from his father. "Guess I was distracted," he replied as he bent to replace the burnt fuse.

Christen watched him. "By what?" he asked. "Or should I say by whom?" Galen glanced up at him and smiled. "Nice try, Dad," he replied. "Hey I'm just looking out for my son, I still got your younger siblings to go, and Galen that's six kids I got to look after"

The boy is too good, Christen reflected. "So what was it then? What had you distracted?"

Galen finished the repair and then straightened to look up at his father. He was about to say something when one of his younger siblings, Julie, raced into the garage. "Daddy!" she yelled. "Damian is making a mess in the kitchen!" "Where's your sister?" Christen demanded, as he headed back towards the house. "She is supposed to be watching you guys!" "I don't know where she is," Julie replied innocently. "I was just playing with my toys."

"Yeah sure," Christen thought suspecting that she was highly involved in whatever disaster he would find in the kitchen.

"Oh boy," Christen said when he reached the kitchen. Damian sat in the middle of the kitchen completely covered in flour. "What is going on in here?" The boy turned his big blue eyes to his father and smiled. "Making cookies!" he declared happily. "Want some?"

Christen had to put his hand over his mouth to hide the smile. No, this was no laughing matter, even if he couldn't hide a smile. Clearly someone had been shirking her responsibilities. And her name was… "Amber!" Christen called.

"Amber, get in here now!" "Amber is talking to some boy," Crystal reported to her father. "She's been talking to him for over an hour!" Christen scowled. "Amber Skywalker gets in this room this instant!" he bellowed, causing the younger ones to run away.

"What is it!? I'm on the…" Amber said as she stuck her head in the room. "Uh oh…" "Yeah, uh oh is right," Christen replied. "While you were talking to Force knows who, your brother, who you were supposed to be watching, did this," he said.

Pointing to the still floury Damian, who was now taking handfuls of flour and blowing them across the room. Amber couldn't help but giggle, but stopped immediately when she saw the withering look her father was giving her. "Okay, I'll clean it up," she grumbled. "You most certainly will," Christen told her. "And after that you can tell me who was so fascinating that you had to talk to them for over an hour" Amber shot her father a dirty look, "Daddy, can't BB Twenty-Two do this?" Amber complained as she picked up her floury brother, trying in vain to avoid getting herself covered in the mess. "I suppose he could," Christen replied as he pulled the clothes from the boy. "But since he wasn't the one asked to watch the boy, that would hardly seem fair, would it?"

"He's a droid," Amber stated. "What does he care about fair?"

Christen pulled the tee-shirt up over Damian's head, sending a cloud of flour into the air. "You're joking, right?" he asked as he took the chubby boy from Amber's arms. "Now clean it up while I give Damian a bath." "Bath! Bath!" Damian declared happily. "Want force bath, Daddy!" "Okay, okay," Christen told him. "Now Damian, you know what you did in the kitchen was bad, don't you?" he asked as he carried his youngest child to the fresher. "Flour isn't meant to be played with." "Not playing, Daddy," Damian protested. "Making cookies!"

Christen couldn't help but smile the look on his son's face so much like Abigail's when she was trying to make a point stick. "Okay, so you were making cookies," He relented. "But when Mommy isn't around, nobody gets to make cookies, okay?"

"Okay," Damian replied. "Mommy come home?" "Yes, but we will make up later" Christen muttered as he set the boy down to start the bath. "Now don't go anywhere," he told him. "Okey dokey, Daddy!" Damian replied cheerfully as he plopped down on the floor.

As the tub filled up, Christen helped his son select just the right toys to play with, and then floated them to the waiting bath water using the Force, as Damian clapped his approval, sending more flour up into the air. Finally it was the boy himself who was levitated into the tub, giggling madly all the while. "Force Bath!" The boy shouted happily. "Now let's get you clean," Christen said as he knelt down beside the tub. "Damian, how did you manage to get flour on the back of your ears?" he asked. "I no no," the boy replied, sending a toy rancor to the watery depths.

Christen shook his head with a smile. Abigail had often voiced her concerns that he was indulging the boy more than the others because he was the youngest; Christen was starting to agree with her. Still, it was so hard to say no when the boy looked at him with those big blue eyes of his…

"Daddy, Amber called me a tattle tale and a nerf herder," Julie announced as she entered the fresher.

Christen let Damian dry off himself as he considered what to do next. How was it that battle tactics came so much easier to him than parenting tactics? His two sons he had no trouble policing; but the girls, that was another matter. He lacked Abigail's womanly abilities, and often found himself getting into power struggles, particularly with Amber. If she wasn't so much like me this wouldn't happen, he reflected as he dressed the baby. "I'm coming," he told Julie. "Just stay out of her way for now, okay?" "Okay," Julie replied, taking the baby her father handed off to her as he left the room. Damian looked down at his sister with a twinkle in his eyes. "Make cookies, Julie?"

Christen walked into the kitchen where Amber had just finished cleaning up the last of the mess. "Looks good," he said.

"Thanks," she said, looking up at him. "Now you tell me who you were talking to instead of watching the kids," Christen said, folding his armored arms over his chest. Amber frowned. "Just a friend," she replied. "What difference does it make?" "When you neglect your duties, it makes a big difference," Christen replied. "Why are you so reluctant to tell me? What are you hiding?" "I'm not hiding anything!" she declared hotly. "Why are you so suspicious of me all the time?" "I am not suspicious of you all the time," he replied, trying to keep his temper in check. "Only when you give me reason to be. And I have only been back for a few months" Amber sighed dramatically. "I like my privacy," she muttered. "Fine," Christen said, losing patience. "Fine," she said, and strode off to her room. "I can't wait to get to Coruscant!" she added hotly. Christen waited for the sound of her slamming door, which he did moments later. "You're not fucking going!" he shouted back, and then regretted it immediately. "Girls," he muttered.

Abigail Skywalker arrived home a short time later. She had been on an extended leave from her queenly duties since the return of her lost husband. Abigail had always loved her career; but motherhood had proven to be an even greater source of fulfillment. In fact, if truth be told, Abigail would be happy if she never returned to politics. Raising five children was far more rewarding, certainly more challenging, than anything she had encountered in her political career.

Abigail was met in the foyer of their home by her youngest, nine year old Julie. "Hi Mom," Julie said, hugging her mother warmly. Of all her children, Abigail found that Julie was the most like her in temperament, while still possessing the characteristic Skywalker Force abilities. "Hi sweetheart," Abigail replied, kissing her daughter on the top of her head. "How have things been here while I was in town?" "Interesting," Julie replied with a smile.

"Uh oh," Abigail replied. "What happened?" "Damian tried to make cookies," Julie replied. "He made a mess." Abigail frowned. "Isn't Amber home?" "Yes she is," Julie replied as they walked into the house. "I guess she was busy."

Abigail was about to reply when Christen walked into the room. She could tell at once that something was bothering him.

"Hi, Love" he said, coming over to her and giving her a kiss. "I'm glad you're home." "Hi, Love "she said. "I can believe it," she added with a smile, noting the dusting of flour in his hair. "Been baking?" she asked, brushing it from his curls. "Not exactly," he replied. "But everything is under control, don't worry."

Abigail nodded, not entirely sure they were. The family vacations they spent on the planets moon were always interesting; for while Christen was missing or thought to be dead.

It was Abigail who ran the house and managed the children; when he was in charge, well, things just tended to happen.

"And where were Galen and Amber this afternoon?" Abigail asked as she and Christen walked into the family room. "Galen was with me," he replied. "Fixing his phantom bike. Amber was in her room talking to some joker on the holonet."

"Some joker?" Abigail asked with a barely suppressed smile. "Come on now, love; you can't expect her not to talk to boys. She's almost fifteen!" "I can when she's supposed to be minding her brother," Christen replied. "You should have seen the mess he made, love; it was the worst one yet."

Abigail nodded her understanding. "I'll talk to her," she said. "I'm sure the two of you ended up in a fight, right?" Christen frowned, disturbed by his wife's ability to read his mind despite her lack of Force sensitivity. "Why would you think that?" he asked defensively. Abigail smiled. "Because I know you both very well," she replied, touching his face lightly. "You're very cute with flour in your hair," she added.

Christen smiled. "You know," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "the kids are all busy," he told her. "Think they'd notice if we just…disappeared for a few…"

"Mommy!" Damian squealed as he toddled into the room and headed straight for Abigail. Christen released her as Damian wrapped his arms around her legs tightly. "I guess they would," he said with a sigh. She looked up at him. "Later," she told him, the look in her eyes telling him that she meant it. Christen nodded. "Until later then," he said.

Soon the room was filled with the rest of the youngest Skywalker children who had sensed that their mother was home. Each of them all wanted to talk to her at once. Christen merely smiled as the children all jockeyed for position with their mother.

Abigail sat at the dressing table brushing out her long hair as Christen sat on the bed, his armor hitting against the head board, his arms folded over his chest. "Something on your mind?" she asked, looking at his reflection in the mirror. "Just wondering who has Amber so distracted," Christen answered. Abigail smiled. "I thought you could read her mind," she remarked.

Christen looked at her. "That isn't funny," he replied. "You know who it is, don't you?" Abigail said nothing, but set her brush down and stood up. "Don't you?" Christen said again as he watched his wife walk over to the bed. "Do you really want to talk about this right now?" she asked. "Are you trying to avoid the topic?" he challenged. Abigail laughed. "No," she replied, slipping off the light robe she wore over her nightie. "I'm trying to get some quality time alone with my husband," she told him.

Christen suspected that his wife was trying to distract him; he was quite certain of it in fact. But it was far too seldom that they had time alone without the fear of at least one child intruding upon them. "Is that what you're doing?" he asked, holding out a hand to her. Abigail nodded. "Does that interest you?" she asked, putting her hand in his. "Let's see, a night spent with my beautiful wife without fear of having to hide under the covers when the inevitable interruption occurs?" he asked with a smile. "Is that what you're talking about?" "Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about," she replied, nestling up close to him and running one hand over his chest plate . "Just imagine, we have the whole night to ourselves," she said. "Let's hope so," he said, pulling her close. "Because I don't want to be interrupted," he added. Abigail laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Me neither," she agreed.

Christen woke up to the sound of his com-link going off, moaning as he gets up and walked over to the com. He answered the call to see the face of his main commander "Hello sir, I have some great news for you, we have decoded the scrolls that had been on Dattonine sir and I think you would like to know what we have found. I'll be sending the files to your data pad." Waving before his commander's image blinked out. l Christen was feeling excited yet worried about the information those scrolls held. Activating his data pad, he opens the file named "Temple of the chosen ones." Looking into the file at the decoded scrolls, reading the message, Christen gets more worried and becomes scared as he finds out that this temple was not documented or even seen for 25,000 years. The temple is said to be on Geonosis, other than that there was not much to go on as evidence of it ever existing. Christen knows that there is always truth in a legend and decides to head to this planet.

Christen walks back to his room where he could still see his wife sleeping. He heads toward the closet and spends the night getting ready for this mission. He makes a call to his alpha fleet to prepare for his journey, but before he could say anything the commander on the on the screen , William Spilder says, "My lord you do know the clone wars just started and this galaxy is swarming with the republic and separatists clone and droid army's?

Christen had totally forgotten about the clone wars, and was sad knowing he was there when the senate voted for war. "Well then, that does put us in a tight situation, but we must carry on as always," Christen responded. "No survivors," smirked his commander. Approving the order Christen shuts down the holovid turning to go down the hall towards his room, where he slammed right into his wife, who had been standing behind him for god knows how long. "What the fuck are you doing up, love" Christen yelled while watching her reaction. She was not in the mood. "Who was that man?" she questioned with venom in every word.

"How much did you hear," he asked trying to avoid discussing his army.

" CHRISTIAN I FUCKING SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU LIE TO ME ONE MORE FUCKIN..." she tried to yell as Christen put his hand over her mouth. as she looked into his eyes of raging fire she could finally say she was afraid, afraid of her own husband. Sensing her thoughts he let her go stepping back breathing in before speaking "Abigail, I'm the leader of a military, I'm a very important political figure, at least in the regions of my government. I gained this power while being enslaved for those many years; I'm a very rich man Abigail." Looking up at her face to see her reaction he couldn't tell at first then it settled in, " How big is this government, army and how rich are you, why are you lying to me," she begged tearing streaming down her face. Christen walked to his desk and grabs a data pad then throws it to her. Abigail finally opens it after a moment's hesitation.

Christen stood there not knowing how she would react, this was not supposed to happen, he needed more time. Hapes is looking to join a government.

"Why did you hide this from me, you know this could really help our people and the system altogether." Abigail asked becoming confused and then angry. "You weren't even a slave when you were gone, this takes years to even plan and you have it all done," she utters while looking in his eyes. "You left us and now you're fucking lying about being a fucking sla..." Christen quickly cut her off, forcing her to look into his eyes, before telling her to come with him. He pulled her by the arm toward the room that was always locked and used the force to open the door. The energy of the force flowed from the room. Abigail felt the raw power that was coming from the room, looking uncertain at her husband.

Christen walked into the room pulling her along, the room was dark but ironically the only light came from where the dark energy was originating from. Standing there was a staff, Abigail begins to grow confused but soon becomes terrified. Abigail drew closer to the staff recognizing that it was the one her parents taught her about. This was the dark staff ,a device in which you could stop time and travel though time similar to how hyperspace works. "How is this possible, I thought it was just a legend," she whispered. "I wanted to tel..." but he was cut off by his wife's hand striking his face, looking at her in more shock then anything. "How long have you been gone" she threatened more than questioning him. Slowly lifting his head to meet her eyes, he said, "I told you the truth. I have only been gone for Eight years." He paused because he sensed she was going to strike him again. "The amount of years I have lived while I was gone is a different story." He stopped to calm himself. "The truth is I have lived for over 600 years Abigail. I was enslaved for 400 years I broke out but was enslaved again and forced to train more, then I killed my masters" he admitted sighing . He looked her in the eyes as continued talking," Please can we just not talk about this." Christen went to bed leaving Abigail to think about what became of her husband. I have to go to Illum in the morning anyway.


	4. Traveling Time

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the secondchapter and I promise that this one doesn't disappoint.

If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and like the story as it is much appreciated!

* * *

Christen arrived back home on Hapes after finishing a mission on the planet of llium to collect rare kyber crystals. Hewas familiar with the cave system, but had probe droids map out the caves and tunnels. The pillar of crystals Christen was looking for was hidden in the center cave system in the planets frozen core. However, when he came into Hapes orbit, he felt a disturbance. He heard from the royal guards and some of his own officers, that the Chiss had gotten more violent towards the Hapens' system, but he didn't think they would directly attack the palace. This time he had a feeling, something was about to happen. He couldn't understand what it was, but he just knew something was going to happen.

As he sat outside the palace, Christen had yet to inform his family of his arrival, he knew it was wrong but he needed his plans to be secret even to his family. He looked on the early morning as it began to show across the sky. His wife would be waking up soon to collect the mushrooms from the garden as she usually did in the morning. As he watched Abigail collect the mushrooms, he saw the blue skin of Chiss assassins and beyond them royal Chiss troops were trying to sneak up on the garden side of the palace. Taking his chance, Christen ran forward with his lightsabers drawn, severing a raider's arm as he reached out to grab his wife from behind. "Back you fucking beasts!" Christen snapped. He looked over his shoulder and told Abigail to go back inside. Abigail hurried back inside while her husband fought against the troopers who had threatened her life. One blasted rapidly at Christens head. Christen dodged the attack, kicking the attacker in the side, breaking all his ribs. The Chiss fell in a heap as blood pooled around him, Christen fought against them, several more gathered and surrounded him each blasting blue bolts rapidly.

Abigail was inside pressed against the glass watching her husband fight them. "He's going to get killed! Mom we need to help him!" Amber exclaimed in horror. "No your father has this, he's far stronger than he shows," Abigail calmly assured her. Inside she was just as worried; she just got her husband back.

Christen grinned as a Chiss charged at him. Jumping over his head, kicking another through the side of the head, blood squirting from the wound, he tried to grab him, he could sense one trying to sneak up behind him, turning quickly and slashing downward with his lightsaber behind him, the blade cutting the Chiss in half, After seeing most of their comrades fall to the ground dismembered or dead, the rest of the Chiss hunting party tried running off frightened. Christen brings his hand up in a fist as the remaining warriors bodies were crushed with the force. Christen walked over to them, each man was lying in a pool of blood as bones stuck out of their bodies. He swiftly decapitated every single one; he deactivated his lightsabers and pulled off his hood. Turning around, he smiled as Abigail climbed out of the hovel with a disgusted looking face, hurrying over to embrace her husband. "Hi my love, this is a great welcome home," he said hugging her tight, "Are you hurt, are you alright?" He pulled back, holding onto her arms. "I'm quite alright," she assured him, smiling softly.

Christen smiled sadly as the rest of the family came out. "You really know how to make an entrance Father, where is two-two?" Lucian quipped. The two sets of twins looked at him with red faces; he knew they were trying their best not to laugh. It didn't help that Abigail was busy pulling and messing up Christens hair.

"You could say the same about your birth, and BB-22 is getting all of my ships cleaned and equipped," Christen answered half truthfully, looking with a playful glare as he patted his sons back "If you're going to hit the king, you got to kill the king".

Lucian shoved his father playfully with a grin. "Hey, hey, enough you two," Abigail scolded. Lucian apologized. She laughed softly. "The Chiss have been getting more brave and dangerous; it's been getting worse since the republic came here. They have been running around the forest and caves for the last few weeks," Amber commented. Christen glanced over his shoulder at his daughter, confused as to why the Chiss could be mad at their people and his family. "I will look into the Chiss tonight and see what I can gather up" he answered. Julie, Damian and Crystal burst through the front door while Christen was burning the dead bodies that littered the ground. He gathered up his kids, who could not stop talking about what they have been doing while he was gone. After a while, they went back inside where the rest of the family was waiting for them. "So Dad, Mom told us you went to Illum," Damian said smiling. Christen forcefully smiled a little. "Yes, I did, sorry for my quick departure when I was here, but I had a mission to go on," Christen answered. "Speaking of leaving, I have been asked at visit Coruscant for a few months," Abigail announced, gaining silence from the whole table. . "Who invited you... you're not thinking of having Hapes join the republic?" Christen asked with the tiniest bit of anger. Abigail sighed trying to keep the conversation light. He looked over at her with a smile. "You remember Padme; she invited me and said she needs my help with stopping the clone wars. There is a situation on Christophis" she replied. Abigail rested her hand on her husband's arm with a comforting smile. "I'll stay here for a couple of weeks, but then I'm going to be getting ready to go to Coruscant," she replied.

"Ah yes, Padme, how is she doing these days? Is she still queen? And you still did not answer my question!?" Christen asked innocently. "Actually she is Naboo's senator, and no I'm not having the system join the republic" she replied irritated. "Then why are there still republic ships on the planet and in orbit" he threw back with a growl. Abigail's eyes popped out of her head as fear took over, so she breathed slowly as she calmed down.

"Some of the traders in the market swindled some of the republics senators in Sabacc," she answered a soft laugh from her husband, he pinched the bridge of his nose, stifling a yawn. Abigail laughed softly. "Hun, you're exhausted," she told him standing up. "No, I'm alright," he assured her. Amber and the kids chuckled lightly. "Daddy, come on. You've got home and fought Chiss, I think you deserve to rest a little bit. Come on. We have droids to annoy anyways, let's go," Amber told her younger siblings. Christen perked up at the mention of the trainingdroids, "Yes you all need to double your training, as I can see none of you have made your own lightsabers. You arestill using the ones I left here," he sighed as he let his wife pull him up and practically dragged him to his room.

Two weeks later, Abigail arrived on Naboo. Walking down the ramp, she pulled up her hood along with her husband who insisted on keeping his identity hidden, wearing his armor and mask. They walked toward the palace, Christen kept getting stares as they walked by, Knowing the time, they both knew Padmé would be in a meeting with Queen Jamillia. Shaking his head slowly with a slight chuckle, he couldn't help but think of how busy his friend had to keep herself. Since he had no room to talk, he had his own responsibilities that kept him away as well.

Walking up the stairs to the palace, Christen and Abigail quietly made their way down the hall to Padmé's office. Sabé smiled, recognizing the cloaked woman figure immediately, pausing upon seeing Christen, as her eyes literally popping out her h head in fear mixed with confusion, letting them inside. "She'll be finished soon," she informed them quietly. "Thank you," Abigail answered as Christen went to stand in a corner to blend in, which he wasan expert at. "I still don't get how you managed to learn that love," she quipped making them both smile. "Well I did have a lot of time'" Christen said awkwardly laughing making Abigail frown.

Padmé walked down the hall with her data pad in her hand. "Sabé, do you have all my things ready for my trip to Coruscant?" she asked. "Of course, everything is all set. Don't worry everything will be under control here," Sabé assured her. Padmé smiled before she went to go into her office. "Could you inform Dormé that she'll be coming to Coruscant with me?" she asked. "Of course," Sabé answered smiling. "And Captain Typho' the Queen insists that he comes with me as well," Padmé told her. "Padmé, will you calm down? I have everything under control," Sabé assured her friend. Padmé smiled a little, letting out a sigh. "You need to relax a little. Maybe after this war you can finally have a break with that Jedi of yours," Sabé teased lightly. Padmé raised her eyebrow. "I told you that we're not supposed to talk about this," she answered as she looked down at her data pad again. "So? Doesn't mean you can't make plans," Sabé told her. "Sabé…" Padmé said with a sigh, "It wouldn't be much fun if Anakin's not here to give his own ideas." "I truly, truly doubt it'll matter to him, have you even seen the way he looks at you," the other girl answered. Padmé shook her head slowly. "I have work to do," she informed Sabe going into her office. "As always," Sabé said with a mock bored yawn as she went back to work.

Shaking her head again, the Senator laughed softly as she walked into her office. As soon as the doors closed, she realized she wasn't alone. Looking up she nearly screamed until she realized who it was. "Abigail Soresu what are you doing?" she demanded, clearly irritated that she was hiding on her. Christen winced hearing his wife's maiden name, sad that they couldn't use his. "Surprise," she answered with a grin.

Padmé shook her head slowly when a frown appeared on her face. Looking over to where Christen was, she froze until Abigail spoke up "Don't worry Padme he's my... personal guard." Padme shook out of her daze getting over Christen; she walked over to Abigail wrapping her arms tightly around her back. "I wasn't expecting to see you for another month," she murmured. "I wanted to see my best friend that I haven't seen since I was 27," she answered, setting her back down on the floor, "Besides, Sabé has been sending me those threatening messages you had been receiving."

Padmé let out a sigh. "Sometimes I feel like I should hire another assistant," she commented. "Why? Because they tell me what you should be telling me?" She asked as Christen came up to lean against the wall behind next to her. "I think they're just empty threats," she answered, waving it off. "Padmé, your life is being threatened and you're taking it lightly when you shouldn't be," he told her as she sat down at her desk.

Padmé looked up at him. "Abigail, I just have too much work to do to worry about empty threats, I have already dealt with before," she told her. "These aren't just empty threats Padmé! I really don't think it's a good idea for you to go to Coruscant," she answered. Christen spoke up at that time " If you would like Senator, I can look at these messages to try to find who sent them" She looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "That is alright noble guard, but I have been working to end this conflict since it started," she answered. "At what cost though?" She asked, "Wouldn't you like in the next year or so to be marrying someone?" "I would like that too," she replied as she sifted through the pile of data pads that littered her desk. "Yes, but how will that happen if you get killed?" She asked. Padmé was silent. "Stop talking nonsense, please," she answered standing up.

"This isn't nonsense Padmé this is your life!" She exclaimed. "Abigail enough!" she told her, turning around to look at him. Abigail was silent. "I'm worried about your safety," she told her. "That's why I'm going to Coruscant with several bodyguards," she answered.

Walking over, she stood in front of her, holding onto her arms. "I'm going with you," she told her.

"Abigail, you can't. I'm sure you have more pressing issues to deal with," she answered. "My husband will be arriving on Naboo later today, I'm going to try to talk him into coming with," Padmé sighed. "When do you leave for Coruscant?" Abigail asked. "Tomorrow," she replied. She nodded her head slowly. "I'll meet you at your parents' house tonight, I have to go," she told her. Padmé watched her friend and her body guards leave and let out a sigh as she went back to her desk to go back to work. Walking out of the palace, they both had their hoods over their heads when they saw the Phantom Fox land. Smiling, he made his way over to greet BB-22 who came rolling out from the ramp. "22, right on time," he greeted. Christen woke up to thesound of his comlink going off. Moaning as he gets up and walks over to the com. Christen answered the call to see the face of his main commander "Good morning my lord, I have some great news for you, we have decoded the scrolls from Illum. I thought you would like to know what we have found. I'll be sending the files to your data pad" waving before his commander's image blinked out leaving Christian excited yet worried of information those scrolls held. Activating his data pad Christen opens the file named "Temple of the Chosen Ones." Christen opens the file and reads the decoded scrolls and becomes worried and scared about this undocumented temple which hasn't been seen for 25,000 years. The temple is said to be on an unnamed planet in the Knart system in the middle of the unknown regions. Other than that there was not much to go on as evidence of it ever existing. But Christen knows that there is always truth in a legend, so he decides to head to this planet. He walks back to his room where he could still see his wife sleeping, heading towards the closet he spends the night getting ready for this mission. He makescalls to his alpha fleet to start heading to Geonosis, but before he could say anything the commander William Spildersays, "My lord you do know the clone wars just started and this planet is swarming with the republic and separatists clone and droid army's?" Christen had totally forgotten about the clone wars. He was sad knowing the senate voted for war. "Well then that does put us in a tight situation, but we can do this just do it like we always do," Christenresponded smirking. His commander smiled, "No survivors!"

Approving the order, Christen shuts down the holovid and turns to go down the hall towards his room. He slammed right into his wife who had been standing behind him for god knows how long. "What the fuck are you doing up, love?" Christen asked while watching her reaction. She was not in the mood. "Who was that man?" she questioned with venom in every word. "How much did you hear?" he asked trying to get away from her questioning of his army." CHRISTEN, I FUCKING SWEAR TO GOD LIE TO ME ONE MORE FUCKIN..." she started to yell, butChristen cut her off by putting a hand over her mouth. She looked into his eyes of raging fire and could finally say she was afraid, afraid of her own husband. Sensing her thoughts he let her go as he stepped back to take a breath before speaking. "Abigail, I'm the leader of a military. I'm a very important political figure, at least in the unknown regions and the Rishi maze. I gained this power while being enslaved for those many years; I'm a very rich man Abigail." Looking up at her face to see her reaction he couldn't tell at first and then realization set in, "How big is this government army and how rich are you? Why are you lying to me?" she begged tearing streaming down her face. Christen walked to his desk and grabbing a data pad he throws it to her. Looking at the data pad for a minute Abigail opened the contents.

Christen stood there not knowing how she would react, this was not supposed to happen. He needed more time since Hapes is looking to join a government? Before he could finish his thoughts Abigail asked,

"Why did you hide this from me? You know this could really help our people and the system altogether." His thinkingbecame confused and then angry. "You weren't even a slave when you were gone, this takes years to even plan up and you have it all done," she stated while looking him in the eyes. "You left us and now your fucking lying about being a fucking sla..." Christen quickly cut her off forcing her to look into his eyes while telling her "Come with me." He took her arm and pulled her into the room that was always locked. The flow of the forces energy burst from the roomwhen he opened it. Abigail felt the raw power that was coming from the room, looking uncertainly as her husband.

Christen walked into the room pulling her along, the only light came from where the dark energy was originating from. When Abigail sees the glowing staff she goes from confused to a fear that was terrifying. Abigail drew closer to the staff and recognized the staff to be the same one her parents taught her about. This dark staff was a device which could stop time to travel through space similar to how hyperspace works. "How is this possible, I thought it was just a legend?" she whispered. Christen started to speak, "I wanted to tel..." but he was cut off by his wife's hand striking his face. He was shocked as she said, "How long have you been gone?" she threatened more than questioning him. Slowly lifting his head to meet her eyes he said, "I told you the truth. I have only been gone for 8 years." He paused suspecting she was about to hit him again. "The amount of years I have lived while I was gone is a different story." He stopped to calm himself before he explained the truth. "I have lived for over 600 years Abigail. I was enslaved for 400 years and broke out, but was recaptured and forced to train again. Eventually I killed my masters. When Christen stood, Abigail took a couple steps back in fear. Christen felt a wave of anger and sadnesswhen he saw her reaction. He pushed his feelings aside and flatly stated, "We don't have time for this, and we need to get ready for Coruscant."


	5. Assasin Down

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the forth chapter

If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and like the story as it is much appreciated!

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Christen walked over to the opened cockpit of his force demon A-89 fighter that he had Two-Two prepare and he could see the droid was chirping away quite excitedly about flying the same fighter they had met each other in . "Well come on we should be going I don't know if my brother is going to be on or off world! I did really have a good idea of what he looks like." Christen told the droid, as it gave him the usual droid advice. "Yes I know I will probably feel him when I'm close, he is the chosen one, and his presence will be unmistakable." Abigail walked over with her helmet under her arm while Christens mask was sitting on the ladder by his Fighter. "Ready?" he asked. "As ready as I'll ever be," she answered. He rested his hand on the side of her neck, the cool metal from his armor chilling her skin a little. "I'll see you in Coruscant, I'm sorry for being gone all this time, I should ha..." he told her. "Shut up, it doesn't matter, See you then," she cut him off smiling. Chuckling lightly, he leaned forward, kissing her softly. Abigail kissed him back, resting her hand on the back of his neck. "Abbie, we have to get going," Padme informed. "Ruining the moment," Christen muttered, making her laugh softly. "I'll see you there," she said softly. Nodding, he kissed her once more before holding her left hand in his. Lifting her hand up to his lips, he kissed her ring before letting her go. Padmé smiled at the couple hopping that her and Anakin can have something like they do. Abigail smiled as she pulled on her gloves and helmet. Christen put on his mask before looking at Typho. "I'll be flying behind her, just fly ahead," he instructed. "Excuse me, Sir, but I believe I'll make the calls on the senators safety," Typho informed. "When it comes to her safety, I think I have the most tactical opinion on it," Christian informed. "Enough, both of you," Padmé answered with a sigh, "Since I basically outrank both of you. Captain I think we should go with the savior's plan." "I'm a king" Christen chided proudly "Shut up and get to your demon ship or whatever, captain please get the ship ready" Padme laughed as she tried to stay serious. Typho looked at Christen, who was smiling smugly behind his mask. "As you wish milady," Typho answered. "Let's get going, please," Padmé told them as she climbed into her chrome ship. Christen gave Typho one last look, letting his lava eyes cut into the man's brain. "I swear, Christen, you grown men are acting like children," Abigail scolded him over his private intercom. "He thinks that just because I'm not a Jedi or part of the republic, that he can try to tell me what to do," he answered. "Love, he's head of security," she told him. "It Doesn't matter, I outrank him, can't you ask to have me as her personal guard" he told her. Silence only answered him for the next few moments. "I will ask her, and don't even try saying you want to protect her and shit, because I know you're going to break into the data core," Abigail answered. Christen was surprised that she figured it out. "Well yes and I want...," he insisted, being cut off. ", Love stop and just fly your Fighter," she answered, almost scolding him. "Yes, my queen" Christen told her with a half-grin. He chuckled lightly as they flew off into hyperspace. Arriving in the orbit of Coruscant, Christen couldn't help but feel that the force here was very unbalanced and unstable. He kept his eyes locked over at the lead ship. He couldn't help but feel something was wrong. When they landed on the platform, christen climbed down and walked over to Abigail and Padme. "We made it," Typho commented smugly as he removed his pilot helmet, watching as one of the handmaidens, followed by five guards walked down the ramp. "Guess I was wrong, there wasn't any danger at all," he commented. Suddenly feeling the force warn him and quickly rushing through his system, Christen looked toward Abigail, reaching into the force. "Get down!" he exclaimed as the force pushed her to the ground and he used the force to keep covering her as the ship exploded. Shrapnel hit his armor rapidly and his helmet making his ears ring. He would have to fix his old armor or just get a new one later. Pulling back, Christen hid his pain as he looked at his wife. "Are you alright?" he asked, helping her back up."Yes, just surprised," she replied quietly, clearly shaken from her near death experience. Padmé hurried over to check on Abigail while Christen turned around, walking among the wreckage searching around, barley recognizing the familiar smell of Chiss explosive residue. He turned before walking up to Typho. "Did you see anyone?" he asked. "Nothing, this is the second time she has had someone bomb her ship upon arrival," Typho replied as he looked around, drawing his weapon. Christen hurried over and helped Abigail and Padme. "Come on love, we have to get you to safety," he insisted. Abigail nodded as she wrapped her arm around Padme. She was crying over her dead handmaiden, Sophia Evans. He didn't know her but he had done some background research on her and learned she was the only surviving member of her family. They were all killed during some sort of trade federation attacks. They quickly hurried off the landing platform. Getting into a speeder that was waiting for them, Christen looked around. "I'll meet you at the meeting," he told her. "What…" she started. "I'm going to look for some evidence, nobody is going to hurt Padme if I'm here," he answered. Abigail nodded as she rested her hand on the metal of his mask before she got into the speeder. "You're the perfect man, I love you," she told him. "Love you," he answered before watching the speeder fly off with his friend and wife. Walking back over to the wreckage, Christen used the force to check for pulses on the six guards and the handmaiden. He shook his head sadly when none had a pulse. "Sad loss," he said softly as he closed the bloodied eyes of the young handmaiden, who looked only around seventeen. Standing up, he began investigating the burnt rubble for any traces of chemicals and other evidence of what was used and who could've done this. Looking up, he saw three republic speeders with Jedi coming his way. He sighed thinking he didn't need them to know about his existence right away. He decided to abandon his search. Hurrying over to the edge and pressing the call button on his armors tech computer, he jumps into a free fall before using the force to slow his landing on his stealth speeder. Christen races off before the Jedi can catch him. When he arrived at the Senate building, Christen climbed out of his speeder and walked into the building. Making his way through the halls, he could hear a discussion going on. Seeing Padmé's seat, he walked inside and took his place in the back. His arrival caused a little bit of a stir because everyone was now looking at the new person who had joined the meeting. Looking over her shoulder, Padme saw her fiancé standing there in his pitch black fire tinted armor, his arms crossed over his chest. He nodded to her to let her know that Padme could start her speech. Smiling softly at him, she turned back to the senate, clearing her throat as she moved their glider forward. "My fellow senators, Less than an hour ago another assassination attempt was made against my life, once again in the same fashion as when this war was started, several guards including my new handmaiden were ruthlessly and senselessly murdered," she informed. When she paused everyone went into a frenzy over the news. "I was the target of this ruthless attack…but more importantly, the security measure of this republic before you was the target. I have led the opposition to this war from the start, this unknown enemy will stop at nothing to assure the wars passage," she told them. The other senators' shouts only grew louder with each word she spoke. Christen looked around to all the outraged senators over the fact that someone was trying to prolong the war. "Stand up senators! You must see what is right. Rise up! If you give the Separatists violence they will only show violence in return! Many more will lose their lives! All will lose their freedom!" she told them passionately. The room was now suddenly quiet again. "I pray you do not let fear push you into disaster. End this war. Does anyone here want that? I believe they do," she finished, staring at all her colleagues. The room began to get loud again, until Mas Amedda called everyone to order. Looking up, Christian could see the Chancellors blue eyes coldly staring down at their glider, but he saw that he wasn't even looking at Padme or even his wife. What made him uneasy was the fact the Chancellor was staring at him, before he finally spoke. "Due to the lateness of the hour and the seriousness of this motion of executive powers, we will take up these matters tomorrow. Until then, the senate is dismissed," Palpatine told the senate. As they went to exit the glider, Christen walked closely behind Padmé and Abigail down the senate buildings main hall. "You did well," he told Padme. "I just hope they actually listen to what I had to say, they haven't been recently," she answered. "They will if they believe in freedom, Senator you just need to have faith that they'll make the right decision in this," he replied. He earned a very surprised but most importantly respected look from his old friend. Loving the fact she didn't know it was him. "What is your name, I don't think I have met you before?" She asked curiously looking from him to his wife who looked very worried as he didn't want to give the name he used in his army and military as he was soon to start raiding certain areas of the galaxy. "You can call me Lord... Punisher. For you my queenly senator, since I will be protecting you can call me The Punisher," he said with no emotion. Padme clearly had reddened in embarrassment. He glanced over his shoulder at his wife. "My queens I will meet you at the Chancellor's office," he spoke through his mask. Padmé and Abigail nodded before slowly following Typho to an idle republican shuttle speeder. Turning around to the opposite direction, christen jumped off the walkway grabbing the speeders feet guards Christen climbed into his own speeder. As he sped to the building they were living in while on Coruscant. Later that afternoon, Christian was standing outside the Chancellor's office when Padmé and some of her colleagues walked down the hall, walking close to Padme was a... Jedi, a young one about 19 or 20, the young man seemed very protective of Padme, he had what looked to him like a new cybernetic right forearm. Looking around he also noticed his wife was not with the group. This was strange; her group had reached the office. "Senator Amidala, I briefly checked over the wreckage of your ship, I have an idea of who it is, but I haven't been successful at finding concrete clues to prove it. If anything, I'm sure the Jedi probably have a few theories," he suggested. Taking a peek at the young Jedi, sensing that this young man was someone he has met before. "And who might you be?" Senator Organa asked. "Senator this is Lord Punisher, he is my newly appointed personal protection, he was been hired to try to find the attempted killers ," Padme replied, "Lord Punisher this is Senator Bail Organa, one of my only trusted friends and colleagues." Christen bowed respectfully to the Senator. "It is a pleasure, Senator," he stated looking the man straight in the eyes. The lava colored iris of Christens eyes pierced the man's soul. Padmé could see the terrified and fearful expression on the Senator's face as Christen tried to engage him in a conversation. Christen was grinning from behind his mask, swallowing a laugh at the man's expression. When Padme introduced him to the young Jedi, Christen was anything but ready for the answer. He felt stupid for not even realizing who it was. "Punisher this is my closest friend, Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker." Padme wrapped her arms around his brothers metal arm and looked at his little brother like a best friend but he could tell they were in love.

Christen held his armored hand out to Anakin, who shook it silently as neither men said a word and just stared deathly into each other's eyes. Christen knew his brother could be one of the only people to take on his stare. A few moments silently passed before Bail Organa stepped in to relieve some of awkwardness. "Yes…well…any leads on the attack knight Skywalker?" he asked. "I'm afraid not," Anakin replied growling regretfully. They looked up when the doors slid open. Mas Amedda motioned them to come in to speak with Jedi master Yoda and his panel. Christen walked behind Anakin and Padmé, making sure they both stayed in his sight. He didn't trust the Chancellor. He voided his force signature so the Jedi couldn't detect his powers. The only thing that could slightly give his abilities away was his lightsabers on his hip. "Senator Amidala, terrible your tragedy is .Warmth to my heart, seeing you alive brings," Yoda expressed. "Do you have any idea who's behind this attack?" Padmé asked immediately. "Our intelligence points us to some desperate bounty hunters on Genosios ," Mace Windu informed. Christen bit back a scoff. Of course someone would've planted evidence for the Jedi to find to make it look like some low life bounty hunters. "I think that we know that the Viceroy was behind this," Padmé insisted. "He is a political idealist…not a murderer," Ki-Adi informed. Christen couldn't help but laugh, getting cold stares from most of the Jedi present. "Hmm but for certain senator, in grave danger you are," Yoda warned and simply ignored Christen. Christen stood behind Padmé with his arms crossed over his chest as he listened in on the conversation. "Senator, could you please introduce us to your…friend here?" Ki-Adi asked curiously as he looked at Christen. Padmé glanced over her shoulder at Christen before speaking. "This is lord Punisher, my newly assigned personal protector. He was assigned to me by his queen to help find the ones who are threatening my life again," Padmé replied. The Jedi masters were staring at Christen as though they were trying to see into his mind. Laughing he raised his barriers and enjoyed the shock he saw on their faces. The Jedi felt him push them out of his mind and then entered their minds just to scare them. They looked on curiously and grew more fearful as they noticed his lightsabers. "Master Jedi, may I suggest the Senator be placed under the protection of your graces?" Palpatine asked, acting as if he were trying to ignore Christen. Christen could see Padme silently growl "Not this again. I just hope it will be Anakin again" she thought "Do you think that is a wise decision with the war just starting? It has only been a few months since the battle of Genosios." Bail asked. "Chancellor please I don't believe the situation…" Padmé started. "Is that serious, no but I do Senator. I realize all too well that more security might be disruptive for you, but perhaps someone you're familiar with? An old friend like, Knight Skywalker, he did an amazing job last time, did he not?" Palpatine asked. Padme's face noticeably reddened in embarrassment and fear. This confused Christen until he looked at her right index finger where he could see a Krayt dragon pearl imbedded into Naboo's native crystals. Christen smiled broadly when he figured it out. His brother and Padme were married and apparently it was after the first battle of the clone wars. "That's very possible, he's just returned from a mission rescuing his droid friend and he is about to go to the temple, with his new pad wan," Windu reported. The senator quickly spoke up, "His name is R2-D2." She gave a very political glare at the Jedi master. They were all silent for a second. Padmé looked over at Christen, who nodded slowly and gently in approval for the little Jedi security. Christen couldn't help but notice that the chancellor was practically sneering. There was something about him that made him uncomfortable. Something that didn't seem right , he couldn't figure out why the man almost had an evil glint in his eye as he stared at Padmé. Could he be the darkness that covered the planet and the Jedi? Turning slightly he also saw the annoyed expressions on the Jedi's faces, but most importantly he looked at his little brother Anakin. He could feel their displeasure, knowing that Padmé only accepted their offer because "Lord Punisher" had silently told her that it would be a good idea. He barely heard what Windu said about Anakin's pad wan reporting in, but heard Padmé say, "Thank you, Master Windu," pulling him out of his thoughts. As the Jedi were leaving, Christen stopped them and asked, "Tell me master Jedi, what do you know of the codes of which the Sith and Jedi preach and follow?" They all gasped with shock and anger, except for Mace Windu and Yoda. "We do know of the Sith code. Every Jedi knows our code like the back of their hands." Mace replied. "Do you know how these codes were originally put into place, or why?" Christen pressured again. "They were put into place to make sure that we use the force correctly," the Koran Jedi stated proudly. Christen fired back with fire in his eyes, "You Jedi are all so damn ignorant in your ways. This is the answer that I had expected from you. Tell me, of which code do you think predates the other?" His growling voice seemed to make the Jedi take a step back. He saw three Jedi masters quietly reach for their lightsabers. "The Jedi code was in place long before the code of the Sith was scripted. The Sith created their code to contrast that of the Jedi." Mace answered, looking over to the grandmaster who said nothing. Yoda did not like where the conversation was going and was confused as to how the unknown guard had such knowledge. "True, but also false. The Sith code was created to promote the pursuit of power of the Force and their belief that the strong ruled the weak; in direct contrast to the Jedi who use their command of the Force to help those who cannot help themselves. Which code do you think teaches the lessons needed to use the Force?" Christan replied menacingly." The Jedi never use the Force for personal gain, only to help others and to serve the republic…but the Sith use the power of the Force for themselves and only to destroy," Mace answered automatically. "Did you know that long ago, when the Jedi Order was in its infancy they too went by a different code? I shall recite it for you and you tell me what you think. Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion yet serenity. Chaos, yet Harmony. Death, yet the Force." Christen quipped with a snarl as he turned away walking back to Padme leaving the Jedi in confused. As the Jedi left, Padmé sat down with Christen walking up behind her. Palpatine seemed to also be staring at the armored man, looking intimated by his appearance. Padmé clasped her hands in her lap, unconsciously twisting her wedding ring around on her finger as they began the meeting with the Chancellor. "Senator Amidala, is it necessary to have your…protector here?" Palpatine asked. "My name is Lord Punisher and my self-appointed assignment is to stay with the Senator at all times," Christian replied coolly like a knife. Staring directly into the chancellors eyes and seeing into his mind without knowing. What he saw would be terrifying to normal people. He saw this man was the last living Sith Lord and he was and has been manipulating his brother to join the dark side.

Padme smiled when Christen stood his ground, so Palpatine let out a sigh saying, "Very well, shall we begin?"


	6. Unveiling the beast

That night, following the meeting, Christen searched the wreckage again and found traces of an explosive compound that only Chiss use. He was confused until he realized they were rerouted to a different landing pad during the walked inside and was greeted by his protocol droid Ventrova who was the data mind keeping his personal fleet in check. He saw Abigail in the living room awkwardly standing as she talked to someone on the holoron. While trying to quietly walk in, Christen accidentally banged his armor on a tiny pot sitting on the table, which fell causing a loud bang. He saw her turn off the transmission very quickly giving him a weird feeling. He didn't care at the moment; he just wanted to be with his wife. Crossing the room, he passed the window that was put in to keep an eye on Padme;sapartment. It was only a 30 second speeder ride, well at least for him. Christen was struggling to remove his mask, so Abigail asked, "Do you need help?" "A little," he replied. "This old thing needs to be replaced anyway, new color and everything; I think I'm just going to give this to Damien when he grows up." He gained a warm smile from his wife, as they both knew their son was in love with the armor from the day he saw it, which was on the day he came home from Korriban. Christen smiled too as she walked over, helping him get the armor off. "Have you told Padme about me or that I am the punisher? "He asked. He did want to catch up with his old friend whom he found out was surprisingly married to his brother. "I told everyone and she even told me that you are a little intimidating," she commented, laughing softly. Christenchuckled softly as he undid the air tight armor on his wrists and arms, pulling it off and placing it in the storage case. Once the torso armor was removed, Abigail stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She could feel the warmth of his glowing scars. Turning around, letting out a deep breath and finally letting go of all the built up emotions he had felt when he imaged that it could've been her on the ship. He lifted her up in his arms, hugging her close. "Calm down! I'm alright, love, it's Padme's life that could've been lost if it weren't for you," she murmured into his neck noticing the only scar that went above his chest , because her cheek felt like it was next to a fire, she didn'tcare. All she wanted was to hold him forever, but still saddened knowing he still would never be the man he used to be "It doesn't matter, that could've been you," he answered, hugging her tight. She hugged him back, letting out a sigh as she relaxed against him. They looked up when there was a knock on their bedroom door. "Sir, Senator Amidala is here," The strongly humanoidlooking droid informed, "and so is Knight Skywalker and pad wan Tano." "Thank you, Ventrova," Abigail answered, hearing the fading steps of the droid behind the door. Christen kissed her briefly. "I'll be right out," he informed. She nodded before leaving the room. Christen let out a deep breath as he changed his under clothing, pulling on his Sithrancor leather armor and his utility belt with all four lightsabers dangling and clanking against each other. Walking out, he smiled to see Padme, his brother and a young teenage Torguta on the living room couch. "It is a great pleasure tosee you again, your majesty" Anakin told Abigail. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Knight...?" Abigail half answered. "Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker and this here is my padawan Ahsoka Tano." Anakin commented. He was so happy his wife was so good at hiding emotions and reactions, since Christen was the only one able to tell she was deeply surprised to hear her own husbands last name and she now knew this was the brother Christen had always talked about. Before Abigail could answer, the padawan suddenly spoke up as she was on her tip toes next to Anakin so she could question Christen, who everyone finally noticed from the girls' outburst. "From what I hear you were at least able to save one life today," the young Torguta blurted out, getting a sour look from Anakin. I guess his wife already told them he was the punisher, great! "Yes I have, Skywalker, your apprentice has quite the uplifting temper for a JEDI," Christen chillingly replied, nodding his head slowly. Suddenly from outside Christen could hear a ship landing, then emerging from the door as Ventrova opened it up to show( surprise mother fucker) another fucking Jedi, Christen sighed through his teeth, annoyingly muttering under his breath. Anakin smiled at Obi-Wan. "Master, good to see you could join us," he greeted. "Good to see you again as well, my young pad wan, I had to find my way here as I thought we were meeting at the senators apartment, it also seems that Master Winduhas informed me that your mission finding your droid friend was a success" Obi-Wan answered. "Well we did, but not the way the council wanted it done you, you know me master," he said lightly. They all chuckled lightly. They moved to the living room of their new home, walking behind everyone, Padmé gave her secret husbands hand a squeeze, without having the other Jedi masters notice. "I believe introductions of your friends are in order, Senator," Obi-Wan commented, gesturing to Christen and Abigail. Christen could see all the Jedi were notably bothered by the sight ofhis lightsabers "Oh… yes," Padmé answered smiling, looking towards them. Christen just decided to use his wife's maiden name "Well I am Christen ... Revanchist, I was born on Tattoine, this is my wife queen Abigail Revanchist of Hapes. I am the high protector of the Hapes system, we have seven kids at the moment but we're expecting to have another on in the future" Christencoldly replied. Looking at there're expressions, they had thought he was a lot younger then he actually was. Well Iguess he couldn't blame them, he knows he doesn't age anymore; forever he will look in his early twenties. He had slightly turned his eyes to his wife, who reached and held his hand lovingly with support. She was the only other person to notice his sudden alertness and the only one to see his scars and his secrets.

"Do you have any parents or siblings?" the Jedi asked. Christen was annoyed by the question, but had to be calm, so he answered with a smile. "My mother was killed and I did have a younger brother. I left them both on Tattoine" he said coolly. The air dropped in the quick awkwardness, but the Jedi simply asked another , Christen thought, but as he looked at his brother he could see the confusion on his face. "So um, how old are you Christen?" Obi wan asked incredulously. Christen paused before he answered the Jedi. It was hard to explain, because he was six hundred years old due to the scepter on Korriban. "I am thirty years old, master Jedi" he three Jedi were shocked and Obi Wan started to speak, "Wow but you just look so..." Christen interrupted and finished the sentence with distaste and fire in his eyes, " young, yes I know master Jedi, well how about you three tell me about yourselves." His brother was the first to answer. "Well as you know I am a Jedi knight, I was born on Tattoine also. I became a Jedi at 9 years old. I am now 19 years old and this is my padawan Ahsoka Tano" he finished with pride. Christen could see as his brothers eyes never really left Padme, which made Christen want to push his brother harder. "I already know that the Jedi don't believe in family, but do you have any, Knight Skywalker? I can already tell your master and padawan were raised from birth? He could see his brother's eyes turned angry, but Padme's hand slowly went over Anakin,s, his eyes calmed. The older Jedi was shocked by the question. It was silent for a few seconds before his brother spoke "My mother was killed only a few months ago, I don't want to go further into that, if you don't mind?" Christen and Padme were the only ones to notice that underneath his cool answer there was a much darker tone. Abigail moved her hand on Christen's knee with a small smile. He ignored the stares and turned to Padme to explain what he was going to do."I'm working on trying to find who's doing this, Padmé. I need the Jedi to watch over you while I'm investigating," Christen stated. The Senator was quiet, as the older Jedi let out a sigh. "So you're the punisher, I had a feeling you were from what master Windu and master Yoda were telling me of your size and weo..," Obi-Wan started to commented before getting cut off by Christen. "Of course they were talking about me!" Christenstated madly with venom in his voice, surprising even his wife at his sudden outburst of anger. "Oh umm yes, especially when you walked in dressed in armor that looks to be force augmented, the Jedi are very confused about not knowing whether your Force sensitive or not," Obi-Wan replied. Christen sighed, lowering his head a little. "Well master Jedi let them know that it does not concern them, as my wife and I are not part of the republic and are only here for our old friend" he stated as he looked towards Padme. Deciding he had enough of the Jedi for today and the smell of their hypocrisy dripping off them, he stood up making everyonelean back in terror. Abigail was the only one used to his size and demeanor. Anakin pulled Padmé's hand closer under the table. "Perhaps with your presence Christen, the mystery surrounding this unknown attack will be revealed," she informed. Christen slowly sighed before he spoke. "Yes that would be great. Now if you'll excuse me, I will retire," he informed. The group watched him disappear in his room. Abigail let out a sigh knowing everyone, including Padme, was noticeably bothered and confused by him. "Two Two, would you like to show them all the security here that is to be set up for the senator?" Christen yelled from his room. Two-Twos rounded black and orange glowing body came rolling out of the corner and stopped in front of the Jedi trio. "I guess you're head of the security. How about you show us all the security and placements for the night?" Obi-wan answered looking at the droid who came in rolling. Night fell and Ahsoka came back to relieve Anakin from guarding Padme's apartment. "Any activity up here, skyguy?" she asked. Anakin shook his head slowly with a sigh."Nope, just extremely calm," he replied. Ahsoka went to check the security cameras Two-Two setup for them. She wanted to laugh as the droid moved when she furrowed her brow. "Master, that Christen guy, there's something off about him." She said, raising her eyebrow. "I feel the same way snips, but the council is very curious about him and I think they will try to keep a watchful eye on him?" he replied."Skyguy, do you think he is force sensitive," she was silent for a minute, before walking away leaving Ashoka without an answer. In the bedroom, Anakin kept waking up every couple of minutes, thinking he would hear something outside the window. He glanced at Padme to see that she was still fast asleep. He had his arm over her waist while she slept. He kissed the back of her shoulder before lying back down. Closing his eyes, he tried to fall asleep again. He smiled a little when she felt her hand tighten unconsciously around his. Ten minutes went by before Anakin began to doze again. Then he suddenly felt something dark enter the room. Sitting up, he scanned around the room. Getting up from bed, he started searching the room, accidentally waking Padmé as he did so. "Ani?" she asked sleepily. Before she could react, Anakin was suddenly back on the bed with his lightsaber in hand, killing two Kouhuns that were crawling up on the side bed. Just then, Christen and Ahsoka ran into the room."Are you alright?" Anakin asked, a confused and shaken Padme. "Oh hell no you outta time, you fucking droid. Get the fuck back here" Christen murmured as he jumped through the window, grabbing the droid that had delivered the creatures. "Crazy Bantha," Anakin exclaimed jumping up. He looked at Padmé. "Stay here," he told her as he and Ahsoka ran out the door while Abigail, Dormé, and Typho ran into the room. Anakin and Ahsoka ran to the nearest garage where they took a yellow speeder, speeding off into the city traffic. Ahsoka spoke to her master while speeding through the traffic. "Master isn't this exactly the way that the other bounty hunter tried to..." before getting cutoff because they almost crashed into another speeder. Anakin sped downward narrowly missing the other speeder. "Yes it is" he said softly. When they finally caught up to Christen, they saw that the droid he had been clinging to had self-destructed and he was now free falling. Anakin glanced up before he easily caught Christen on the back of the speeder. "What took you so long?" he asked smiling as he climbed on. "I couldn't find a speeder I really liked," Anakin replied with a half-grin. Ahsoka shook her head slowly. "Snips, switch sides with me," he insisted. "What do you plan on doing Skyguy?" Ahsoka asked as they started switching places."Will you just trust me?" Anakin asked as he sat in the passenger's side. Christen just stared between the two of them for a second when Anakin got up from his seat. "Alright, if you'll excuse me I have another attempted assassin to catch," he commented before jumping on the front of the speeder then jumping off completely. "Has he lost his mind?" Ahsoka demanded. Christan chased them both down as Anakin was clearly struggling with the driver in the speeder in question. "There are methods to his madness," Ahsoka added with a half-grin. Anakin grabbed a hold of the Chiss woman's wrist as she tried to fire her blaster at him. After missing several blasts, the attempted assassin turned her speeder, making Anakin fall and hit the ground. Reaching with the Force, he was able to get the speeder to crash. The woman jumped out of the speeder and began running with Anakin right on her heels. The woman kept glancing over her shoulder at who she believes is only a usual Jedi chasing her down. She had no idea the young Jedi chasing her was the "Hero with no fear" she had heard rumors about. She ran into a smugglers drinking club, just as Anakin went to go in after her, Christan and Ahsokacaught up with him. "She's in the club," he informed. Christen nodded her head slowly. "Remember to keep yourself hidden, Anakin. You've worked too hard to get yourself caught now," he reminded him softly. Anakin looked confused, because he was not used to being ordered around by a non-Jedi. Understood," he slowly answered. Growing more annoyed that Christen was giving him orders. Christen gripped his shoulder gently, but firmly with a smile before he, Ahsoka and Anakin entered the club. Anakin and Ahsoka slowly walked in behind him, searching around for the woman using the Force. Christen nodded gently to him, having him blend in the crowd was the perfect way to go in with this. "She is only 15?" Christan asked as they sat down at the bar. "She's a good apprentice. A slow learner, but she does learn," he answered as they ordered drinks at the bar. Christen nodded his head slowly, before heading to the bar, feeling a hand gripping his rancor leather jacket. "Wanna buy some death sticks?" a man beside him asked. "You don't want to sell me death sticks," Christen answered. "I don't wanna sell you death sticks," the man parroted. "You want to go home and end your life," Christen told him. "I want to go home and end my life," the man again parroted before leaving. He knew this had been done to this man no earlier than a couple of weeks. It was his time to die. Anakin laughed nervously a little, shaking his head slowly. "Christen do you think it is a wise idea to form an attachment?" he asked. Gaining a confused look from him, Christen answered honestly; "In the words of my mast..." he paused before he said too much, "of an ancient Jedi battle master Jolee Bindo, "love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you," he answered. Anakin was suddenly silent. Before Christen could make a comment, he felt a blaster being slowly pointed at his back; he knew even if the Chiss had shot his leather it would have easily blocked the blast. They suddenly both stood up igniting one of his lightsabers. Christen quickly severed both of the would-be assassin's arms. Anakin turned at the sound of the igniting lightsaber, he quickly looked down at the assassin before looking up over at Ahsoka who was standing infront the crowd. She nodded and walked to him before they led the Chiss out of the nightclub. Christen noticed the looks on the Jedi's faces when his lava lightsaber had been ignited. Setting her down on the ground, Anakin stood above her. "Who are you?" She demanded. "Doesn't matter who she is Jedi, she is only a hand of the perpetrator behind this. The real question is who hired you?" Christen asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was just a warning. My orders were to make sure the senate went through with giving powers to the chancellor" the woman insisted. "Tell us, tell us now!" Anakin demanded. Christen looked oddly at his brother, but suddenly he could saw the same glint in his brothers eyes he saw in his vison with his mother. "Who are you to make demands?" the woman answered. Christen shook his head slowly as he used the force to get Anakin off the Chiss. Kneeling down face to face with the ugly tinted blue skin face of the assassin "I don't think you understand, I don't care if I have to skin your ugly Chiss blue body alive, if I were you, I'd start talking," he bellowed. The woman and both Jedi stared in horror for a minute. "I don't know them I just get told my targets name, but they are called the Kamu…" she replied, just as a small metal dart was suddenly injected into her neck. The three of them looked up as someone flew away. Looking back down, they saw her turn back to her original changeling form and began speaking in a language they didn't know and she collapsed to the ground. Christen reached over, pulling out a dart. "Poison dart" he murmured. Ahsoka checked for a pulse, shaking her head slowly. Anakin cursed under his breath. "Anakin, go back to Padmé. I'm sure she's worried about you," Christen insisted. Without having the Torguta hear him. Anakin nodded before heading back to the apartment. Upon arriving back Anakin found Padmé in the living room sitting with Abigail. She hurried over, embracing him. Hugging her tight, he buried his face into her hair with a heavy sigh. "Did you get him?" Typho asked. "He was a she and we did, but she was killed before she could tell us who hired her, this is too similar to the attempts before the war" he replied. They were all silent. "What's the next plan of action?" Typho asked. "This war spells out the future of the galaxy, I refuse to leave and let democracy be killed" she answered very emotionally. Anakin looked at Typho and the two girls in the room. "Mind if we talk alone?" he asked. They nodded as the three of them left the room. He looked back at his fiancé, holding her hands in his. "Padmé, please, I can't stand the idea of you getting killed over this. It'll kill me," he told her. Christen walked in at that moment, "I'm not going to die, Ani," she answered. She turned to Christen who shehoped would give her an escape from Anakin's questioning. "She is in no more danger then if she was on Naboo, these hunters won't stop, as it seems there is another bounty on your head worth one million credits" he told them both. Padmé was silent. "I am going to find the one who's trying to kill you," Christeninsisted. Letting out a sigh, she lowered her head a little. "Alright" he sighed. Padme let out a sigh of relief, resting his forehead against hers. "Thank you," she whispered. The next day, Padme had been informed byAnakin telling her that he and Ashoka would be going back in the war. Christen, after sending his brothers padawanaway, spent the night secretly placing his personal data droid probes across the buildings surrounding the senate building and the Jedi temple. Waiting for Padme, he quietly stood in her apartment in his new black and white body armor while staring across the room at Padmé's new Jedi bodyguard, Kit Fisto. "Lord Savior" Kit greeted. He was also staring at Christen curiously, intimidated by him in his new armor it seemed. "Master Jedi," Christen answered, bowing slightly after an awkward silence. Padmé let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't like being surrounded," she muttered as she continued gathering her things for the senate. "Don't worry, milady. I'll find out what's going on," Christen answered. "I believe Master Kenobi can handle it," Fisto informed. "My droid Ventrova will be going" Christen answered, not looking for a response, he turned to leave to do some personal things, looking towards Padme. She nodded as Christen went to send a transmission, to Tython to get a chance to catch up on his military'sfleet movements. A little while later, Abigail walked into the makeshift security room, looking around. "Christen?" she called to him quietly. Christen walked out of his bathroom in full armor and came over, embracing his friend tightly. Abigail hugged him back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Why do you always wear that armor? Please be careful," she whispered. "I will," he answered, rubbing her shoulder, Christen pulled back from their embrace to capture her lips with his. "Time to go," he said softly. A glare in his eyes that gave his plans away. "I know this isn't the only mission you're going on while you're gone," she answered. Christen sighed because he knew to tell her the truth. "I'm first going to Dxun and then i going to spy on Nute Gunrey." She shook her head in amusement. Grabbing his mask, Christen slipped it over his head before they left the apartment. Padme was sitting in the living area nonchalantly. "Are you ready, milady?" Fisto asked. "I am," she replied. Christen watched as she left the apartment first. "Master Fisto," he called. The Jedi Master stopped and looked over at him. "I'm trusting you with Senator Amidala's life. If anything were to happen to her, I will hold you responsible for it," he informed. The Jedi Master seemed to be taken aback with his comment before clearing his throat. "I assure you that Senator Amidala will be protected," he answered. Christennodded before watching him leave He left the apartment, walking over to his speeder that sat on the veranda. Climbing on he went to speak with Obi-wan about the dart that had killed the changeling. His masters had him learn about certain toxic darts that wouldn't show up on the analysis archives. From the way that dart looked, it had no symbols for any droid to recognize. From what he could tell and going by his gut, Christendecided it was from the planet Dxun. Arriving at the Jedi Temple, Christian held his comlink up. "Master Kenobi," he called. "Yes," Obi-Wan answered. "I'm outside your temple. Would you please meet me out here?" Christen asked as he got out of his speeder. "On my way," Obi-Wan answered. Standing outside the temple, Christen let out a sigh when he looked and noticed Obi-Wan walking out. "Senator Amidala is on her way to the senate building as we speak," he informed. "Good, the Council wasn't really…thrilled with the fact the only reason the Senator agreed to stay here was because you asked her to," Obi-Wan commented. "Well the Jedi Council will have to understand that Padmé will listen to Anakin's and my opinions over anyone in the council" Christian replied. Obi-Wan chuckled lightly. "What do you need here?" he asked curiously. "I'd like to look at that fluid that killed the would-be assassin," Christen replied. Reaching into his robes, the Jedi removed the vile placing it into Christens hand. Looking at it, he furrowed his brow. "Hmm as I suspected, not surprising your analysis droid probably didn't find this in any of its archives?" he asked. "No," Obi-Wan replied bitterly. Christen studied the liquid for a few more minutes. "I have a theory, but do you know anyone you can take this to find out who would know where this came from?" he asked. "I know someone," Obi-Wan replied. Christen nodded his head slowly. "Then let's go see this friend of yours," he commented as they got on his speeder. "I have a feeling I might regret flying with you," Obi-Wan muttered before the young man sped off. When they arrived at the diner, Christen parked and started chuckling as the Jedi Master practically ran from the speeder. "Obi-Wan, you worry too much," he commented as he climbed off. "You have completely lost your mind," Obi-Wan told him. "You worry too much," Christen repeated. "This is a speeder, not a pod racer, god you are just like Anakin" the Jedi Master told him. "I am very aware of that, but I can still have some fun," Christen insisted. "You truly are crazy," Obi-Wan answered. Christen rolled his eyes as they went into the diner. He noticed that everyone was staring at him, so he squared his shoulders. "Someone to see you honey! A Jedi by the looks of it," the droid called out. "Obi-Wan!" the diner owner exclaimed happily. "Hello Dex," Obi-Wan answered. Dex glanced at Christen , kind of surprised to see the Senator's armored bodyguard standing there. "Take a seat, I'll be right with the two of you," he informed. Christen stood beside the table as Obi-Wan greeted his friend. They sat down and Dex just looked at Christen curiously. "Dex, this is the savior. He is on the same mission as I am and we would like some information," Obi-Wan informed. "Heavy work for a bodyguard isn't it?" Dexasked. "I was assigned to Senator Amidala to find the ones who are threatening her life," Christian answered nonchalantly. Dex nodded before looking back at Obi-Wan. "So my friend what can I do for ya, last time you came for that Kaminoian dart from the senators last assassin's attempt?" he asked. "Yes I know Dex, could tell us what this is," Obi-Wan answered, placing the dart in front of him. Christen watched as Dex examined the object. "Well what you've got there is a Dxun death Dart," Dex commented. "I figured it was Dxun" Christen answered as he stared at the dart on the table. "How would you know of Dxun?" Dex asked. "I've learned a lot about hidden planets and the people who wished to keep them hidden," Christen replied as he examined the dart in his hand. "Are the people there friendly?" Obi-Wan asked. "Well that all depends," Dex replied. "Depends on what Dex?" Obi-Wan asked. Christen smirked a little. "On how good your manners are…how good you are with the ladies" Dex replied chuckling. "Savior, do you know where Dxun is?" Obi-Wan asked, blushing as he ignored Dex's comment "I should, I mean I trained there for a few months," Christen replied as they got up from the table. "Thank you Dex, you have been a great help," Obi-Wan told him. "Yes, thank you," Christen reiterated. "Anytime boys, anytime. Obi-Wan don't be a stranger around these parts now," Dex told him standing up. Obi-Wan nodded before they left the diner. "So you have you encountered these natives before?" Obi-Wan asked. "My masters introduced them to me once, they didn't really trust me, to be honest they tried their best to stay away from me, Said they wanted me to learn where some temples were hidden, It would be the perfect place for the enemy to hide," Christen explained as he got into the speeder. He noticed that Obi-Wan didn't get in and let out a sigh. "Obi-Wan, you have fought a Sith Lord and yet you're terrified about getting onto a speeder with me," he commented."How would you know about that? I'm only scared of the ones you and Anakin drive," Obi-Wan replied with a sigh as he got in. " Your whole Jedi order is very easy to read and have very weak mental force barriers, fuck Obi-Wan your such a bitch" Christian commented as he sped off, twisting to fit between the two busy incoming transport lanes. "Language, my lord, your driving is suicide," the Jedi Master answered as they went into Coruscant traffic. "Just call me Christen when we are alone, plus don't worry just trust me," Christeninsisted. Obi-Wan shook his head, letting out a sigh as they reached the Jedi temple. When the two of them went their separate ways Christen went back to the apartment to find his fighter ready with Two-Two in the droids holding space on the left wing. "Alright, Dxun, here we come," he commented as he climbed up the side of his fighter ship. Opening the cockpit airlock hatch, he jumped inside and got it ready to go. He met Obi-Wan right outside of Coruscant's atmosphere. "Just follow me, Obi-Wan and we'll find Dxun," he informed. "Alright Christen, here goes nothing," Obi-Wan answered as they jumped into hyperspace.


	7. Dawn Of An Empire

Chapter 7

Dawn of an Empire

* * *

As Christen shifted out of hyperspace above the desolate forest planet of Dxun he called his wife. "Abigail, if you can hear me, we have arrived at Dxun," he stated, hoping she was still close to her comm. There was a few minutes of silence followed before he got a response, as his comm opened to show his wife with the inside of the senate building in the background.. "Understood, I'm still in a meeting. I got a call from Amber who said the kids are going crazy and want to spend time with you. I'm going to be busy keeping an eye on things in the Senate," she quietly informed him. He sighed totally forgetting about his children. "Alright I'll go see what's going on with them, and has the Chancellor made any moves yet? I don't trust him, with all the power he has now," he answered. "I don't trust him either, but no, he hasn't done anything that could raise any warning signs to us," Abigail replied. She still didn't like the idea of her husband to be in control of an entire government let alone a military. Both of which she knew very little about as he had kept it mostly secret from her, knowing he only told her the truth because he could never bear the thought of hurting her. Christen was silent on his end. She decided to end the conversation "Find whatever you can, alright and, I accidentally overheard a transmission from Padme's new Jedi guard to the council. They are thinking that you are a Sith Lord," she informed. "Fucking bantha fuck," he answered sarcastically, "I will make contact with you when I need to find out information. Nexu out." "Nexa out," she answered. Christen had to wait a few hours for Obi-Wan to arrive and was using that time to think about the fact that his ships can travel tenfold of the fastest republic ship. He was waiting for close to five hours, so he entered the atmosphere to send an IT-M80 probe droid to help him map the area. The droid came back right before Obi-Wans ship appeared out of hyperspace. Flying towards a landing pad on the east side of the main building that the probe had backed up , quickly Landing his ship, Christen got out, pulling his hood over his mask as he told the Jedi to walk in the boring greyish temple. Fallen statues we're littered all over the temple, followed by a mysterious cult member that was there to greet him, the man was in all white not a spot on the clothing just white, he was jealous of Obi- wan until he saw he was at blaster point. Once they were out of eyesight, Christen snuck inside, using the force to cloak himself. As he walked through the halls he noticed everything looked the opposite of what would be expected by what's on the outside. There was nothing but white cleanliness, no dirt anywhere; just clean white hallways, floors and machines. Passing hundreds of aliens and humans all wearing the same clean color white noticing that each had a blaster pistol, he walked closer to the west side of the building when he saw the medical facility, his eyes widened as he look through a window. All the way from the ceiling down to the bottom of the chasm all he could see were rows filled with tanks descending into darkness below. Each one held thousands of growing embryos that Christen couldn't figure out what species it was. It looked to be near human but they seemed to be... different, but whatever this was, it was growing at an unnatural rate. The machinery was eerily similar to most of the medical machines that were in his own temple. Right before his eyes he saw one that had grown to near full human sized and the creatures canine teeth were visible and looked to be a couple inches longer and sharp to a point. It reminded him of what he looks like when he los... he didn't even want to be reminded about when he loses control. "What is this fucking crazy shit…" he said quietly. Christen snuck down the hall where he saw some engineers working on the new batch of these human clones. He had to get to one of those computers to find out what was going on here. Making his way through the spotless white and now grey lined halls, he finally found the main data storage room. Turning around, Christian closed and locked the door behind him before sitting in the chair. Accessing the data computer, he first attached a virus to the systems, before he began pouring over the information in front of him. "Building a clone army with ten thousand units ready for their orders…over a hundred thousand more are expected to be produced in the next six years but why…" he read scanning over the rest of the report. He found the species were called the Yashans. According to the data in front of him the creatures were considered a race of superhuman warriors whose physiology is quite identical to humans. They were breed to be remarkably agile, five to ten times stronger and thrice as intelligent to humans, their blood contains platelets capable of regenerating an immunity to a wide variety of diseases and toxins, possess heart muscles twice as strong and lung efficiency 175% better which allows them to survive underwater for roughly an hour, and they have the ability to see in complete darkness and have internal thermal vision. Christen stopped to think about what he was just reading, thinking about how these clones, the DNA, genetics, and all the research just looked too familiar, thinking he could use this to his army's advantage since his military was just generations upon generations of unknown regions allies, his army had only around twenty five thousand troopers. "But who built this?" he wondered scanning down the data pad. It looked like a regular order form. It was extremely odd for him; it was as if these plants were supplies being ordered. Finding a name, his forehead creased with recognition and confusion. "Lord Savior's punishment elite fleet? That's when it hit him; he had seen these clones before. He was the one who created the species through his force alchemy; he made this research on Korriban when his masters forced him to learn the technique. Scrolling down, he saw a spot that literally blew his mind. It said, "Lord Saviors Orders." Moving to look at them, he cursed when "Enter Password" flashed up on the screen. "Of course that is the one spot that would be locked," he muttered. He let out a frustrated sigh as he tried to remember what he would have used for the code. A few minutes passed before he sadly remembered. He typed [emma] and it unlocked the data. Several windows opened before he finally found what he was looking for, the special orders. He saw their list of orders, and some raised suspicion, but only two seemed to be raising red flags for Christen. He was about to search for more when he heard someone trying to get into the room. He didn't want to run, because he needed to find out what was happening here. The door opened to show a doctor in white. Christen jumped him not letting the doctor scream, but soon felt a shock course through his body. He let go of the doctor who then pointed his blaster into his mask. Christen was ready for the man to shoot knowing full well his armor could take much more than one blaster bolt. But to his surprise the doctor's face turned from anger to shock, then confusion to relief for some reason. Christen was going to jump into the ventilation but the doctor spoke before he could. "My lord?" He said in a quivering voice. He turned to face the man, quickly running towards him and slamming him against the wall by the throat. "What is this place? Who are you? And why the fuck do you know me!? "He said in a voice that would make most people have nightmares, but the doctor who was certainly scared, did not scream for help. Instead he replied with a calm low voice, "This is the savior's republic cloning facility 529, as for me I am Doctor Stenge Curtis. I was put in charge of the facility when your masters kidnapped me to begin your clones for the war." Christen let the man go and after dropping to the floor the doctor smoothed his white clothes. Christen was confused as he ripped his mask off. "But... I never gave them these instructi..." he drifted pissed as he remembered when he was tortured and moved from Korriban to Tython in a matter of weeks. Remembering when he was on the Sith home world he had tons of research his masters forced him to create and then had been destroyed. At least that is what they had told him. The doctor stood silent as he walked back and forth before turning to the man, "Alright doctor so what your telling me is that all this" he waved his arms to the room and the rest of the facility " was created by me or least my designs and research were used?" he said exasperated. The doctor was clearly nervous "Yes my lord, this whole building and everything if built from your designs." Christen was still in shock but he was secretly bursting with happiness, he remembered working for years on this research during his enslavement and training. The doctor asked if he wanted to tour the facility. Christen was still speechless happiness realizing his research was not destroyed. He felt a hand on his armor pulling him back into reality. "Lord Savior?" He spoke again. Christen shook his head "Yes I would love to doctor..." he trailed on as he forgot the man's name. "Stenge Curtis, My lord" he said as he bowed to him like his other men. "Yes Mr. Curtis I would love one. I just need to get my friend off of the planet" he said. He did not need the republic or anyone to find out about this. The doctor spoke again, "Ah is that friend the Jedi that is now in the building, you might want to get him off soon as we were going to kill him. Now that you say he is with you I will call off the attack." This had surprised Christen, yet made him feel calm knowing his men would kill Jedi to keep this place secret from the rest of the galaxy. "Yes that would be great. I will send him off Doctor" he said smiling before reattaching his mask. Jumping back into the ventilation shaft leaving the doctor to find the Obi-Wan and show him out. He crawled his way through the vent system and then out the way the Jedi came in, landing on the dirt floor. Christen found Obi-Wan getting ready to talk to the Council. He was followed behind by Stenge. Once the doctor was gone, Christen came from his hiding spot, walking over to his own ship to talk to Obi-Wan about what he had found after he spoke to his Council. Obi-Wan sent out his transmission, and looked over at Christen. "Did you find out anything?" he asked. "No I did not, just useless info, what about you?" Christen asked grinning. "No the cultists were not the most friendly type, I'm surprised I'm still alive. "It's a good thing I did my part. This could have ended very differently, so I guess we will go separate ways now?" Obi-Wan spoke breathing hard. Christen could tell the Jedi was very worried. Christen looked into his mind, finding that the Jedi council had ordered Obi-Wan to look into rumors regarding a new cyborg general. He was quite happy as he could finally unveil his personal fleet to test on some subjects. Christen laughed as he nodded but did not reply before they ran to head back to their Fighters. Christen headed into hyperspace towards Tython as he contacted his fleet to get ready to transfer to the targeted system. But before that he needed to go do some undercover work to. A few days later over the far moon of the planet Rodia, Christen was in his fighter while trying to escape a few droids chasing after his ship. "Fucking cucks," Christen muttered before he started doing a barrel roll. He grinned a little when the droids crashed into each other. "My lord, pull up!" Commander Vibrio called over the com. "Calm down Vibrio, I know what I'm doing," he answered. He dove under the ship instead of pulling up. The commander replied with the usual "Yes, my Lord." Christen still needed to get used to that. He flew back to the front of the separatist transportation ship, trying to find the shield generator. He laughed as he saw they were outside the ship and quickly aimed at the shield generators destroying them in one shot. He made it inside before the emergency blast doors could close. He jumped out of the fighter and instantly was under blaster fire from the droids that were trying to attack him. Christen rolled across the floor, using the force to push several droids backwards before looking at his fighter. Smiling, he took the small remote from the pouch on his utility belt, activating the cloaking device he had installed on his ship, along with getting the whole navy cloaking devices. Looking around, Christen used the force to cloak himself. He sprints as he starts going through the hidden passageways that his probe droid found days before and gave him prior to his infiltration of the ship. Since this was the command ship, he could only hope that he could catch some information that could be useful for the end of the slavery for the natives of the planet Ryloth. The republic has allowed it to be enslaved by the separatists. Making his way over the top of the council room, he stopped when he heard a meeting going on. "I demand another bounty hunter, one that wouldn't become useless after some punisher guard dismembered his limbs. I want Senator Amidala's head," he heard Nute Gunray demand. "Patience Viceroy, patience. You will receive what you have been asking for over the last ten years," he heard Dooku say. Christen shook his head slowly. "Not if I have anything to do about it," he thought. "I heard that the Senator has extra security since the attempts on her life prior to Geonosis ," he heard Wat Tambor answer. "Of course, that should be no surprise," Dooku answered, "but the Senator will die. I have promised you that." Christen swallowed his anger, making sure to keep himself void of the Force. The last thing he needed was Dooku to sense his presence, well he could debate that, his wife could make him sleep on the couch, not that is a nightmare'. "It is easier to know that the Senator of Naboo has very few allies since Geonosis," Dooku pointed out to the Viceroy. "Ruining her reputation means nothing, I want her dead," he snapped. "I think the last person we need to worry about is Senator Amidala, but we need more on this Punisher that has everyone on Courscaunt confused. No one has info on him; he just showed up along with who is said to be the queen of Hapes," Tambor informed the council with worry evident in his voice, wanting to change the subject. "I agree, this Punisher, who the hell is he, we know the Jedi have no clue so we need information?" San Hill questioned curiously. "One thing is for sure, whenever he is seen in Coruscant he is practically welded to Senator Amidala's and her friend queen Abigail Ravenchrist sides," Passel Argente commented, sitting back in his "He carries a Jedi's lightsaber, but it is obvious he is no Jedi since even the Masters don't know who he is. The blade is also not of a known Jedi color, its lava colored," San commented. Christen wanted to cut that man up for saying his weapons were "Jedi" force. The one thing that will get to him is anyone thinking he is like a Jedi. That being is a fucking cuck. Christen frowned behind his mask. "He wears the mask similar to that of an old…Sith Lord that I seem to have heard about," he heard Dooku mutter. "Either way, we need our spies to kill this punisher. He is a threat to our work," Gunray insisted, with fear evident in his voice. "He doesn't work for the Jedi or the Senate, but he's not working for us. This punisher has no loyalties whatsoever from what I have seen," Tambor put in. Christen shook his head slowly. "Show me a group I should be loyal to. The Republic has kept slavery on the planets that it already exists on, and the Trade Federation's trying to kill my family. Why should I be loyal to any of them? Neither will ever gain his trust as both will fall, in time" he thought. He glared at Nute Gunray as he went to bring his drink to his lips. Concentrating, he smiled a little when the glass shattered in his hand. Deciding he had heard enough, christen made his escape, time for him to get to his kids and set up to unveil himself and the kids to this fucked up galaxy. Back on Coruscant, Abigail was walking down the halls of the senate building with Padme. "Remember what I told you, Padme" she said. They are both exhausted from the infighting from the senate and lack of forward progress"I will," She answered. Abigail pulled her hood over her head as she went to listen to the meeting. She crossed her arms over her chest as the meeting began. "But Jar Jar has already offered to motion the powers," Padme answered. She looked at Jar Jar angrily and the Gungan noticeably stepped back in embarrassment. Abigail shook her head slowly. "Padme just sit down. Let me handle this, I will be the representative," she told him. Padme sat down and Abigail stood at the podium. "Fellow delegates, unfortunately Senator Amidala is unable to speak this evening," she stated to everyone in the room. There were many murmurs in the crowd. "And who might you be?" Palpatine asked. "I am step in Representative Abigail, queen of Hapens," she replied in her best political voice, "Senator Amidala appointed me as her second if representative Binks would be unable to speak." "And what would you like to say?" Palpatine asked. "I am here to remind everyone that Senator Amidala has put her life on the line countless times in order for everyone to hear out her request to try to end this war peacefully. If we do not listen, it will lead to nothing but bloodshed and the senate that has been standing for over a thousand years will crumble," she explained. There were shouts of agreement and outrage going throughout the room. "Senator Amidala has not risked her life to watch the opposition fail. Senators, please remember that this was your doing and now will lead to a longer lasting war," she told them. The shouts again filled the room. "Order! We shall have order!" Mas Amedda called out. After finishing her motion, Abigail sat down and people began shouting. Abigail shook her head slowly, knowing that her motion fell on deaf ears of so many. She knew she was failing at trying to save Padmé's work. She knew that for one day, she held off Palpatine getting more emergency powers, but she had a feeling that she was being watched. Looking up, she could see the Jedi known as Yoda and Windu were standing in the doorway watching her as she wandered over. "Master Yoda," Abigail greeted with a slight bow. "What can I help you with?" she said in a sweet voice, but Yoda was not fooled. "True name what is?" Yoda asked, pointing his gimmer stick to her. "Abigail Revanchist just as I said and I am an ally not to worry you," she told him as she walked by them. As she made her way through the hall, turning continually making sure nobody was following her. "Nexu," she said quietly as she left the senate building. Christens voice manifested in her head as she communicated with him though the force. "Yes my love, what is it? I'm kinda busy at the moment" he said. It made her smile but curious and he could sense it. Suddenly his voice filled her mind again, "Yes it was very informative, but I am on my way to Tython. I am going to take my personal fleet on a mission to a republic clone medical facility" he said quickly. "I need to go Nexa, as for the Jedi just don't let the children near them when they arrive," he finished and cut the force connection before she could respond, leaving her to wonder what he would do with his fleet. Will he kill or save everyone in his path? She just hoped that he never found out about her affair, walking to a speeder that was parked by her secret lover.

Across the galaxy near the targeted medical facility

"Here we go," Anakin Skywalker said, adjusting the course of his ship as he flew forward. Behind him, the rest of Shadow Squadron and Master Plo Koon followed. The entire strike team had just finished taking a 'shortcut' through a nebula filled with giant mantas in an attempt to catch up to new separatist leader General Grievous. The cyborg was commanding a massive battlecruiser, known as the Malevolence, towards one of the Republic's medical stations. The dreadnought was equipped with a weapon the republic has never seen before: a massive ion cannon that could disable all electronics caught within its blast, including entire fleets. If they didn't manage to intercept Grievous, he'd be able to use the cannon and render the medical station and its inhabitants—over sixty thousand injured clones—helpless to being bombarded. Hence the reason they had taken their 'shortcut' and were flying Y-wing bombers. If they could reach the Malevolence before it reached the station, they could blast Grievous to pieces and destroy the ship's ion cannon. As they continued their flight, Plo Koon noticed that one of the ships next to him was trailing smoke. Opening the com link, he asked "Shadow Two, how damaged is your ship?" The clone piloting the ship, quickly responded "Just a scratch, sir. It's nothing to worry about." Even so, the Plo Koon loudly grunted. "We must not take any more unnecessary risks. If even one of us were to fall, it will make destroying Grievous and that cannon that much harder," he warned. Anakin frowned. "Except that we didn't lose any ships, and I won't-" he began, before he was interrupted by Shadow Three, who said "Sir, I'm picking up a large contact on the scanners." In the gunner's seat of Anakin's ship, Ahsoka Tano, his padawan, said "I thought those mantas wouldn't follow us outside the nebula." Shadow Three replied "It's not the space creatures that are following us. It's a separatist ship, and it's coming out of hyperspace." A moment later, he said "Sir, it's the Malevolence." True to the clone's word, a moment later, the massive Separatist capital ship appeared ahead of them, flying straight for the medical station. Aboard the bridge of the ship, General Grievous noticed several transport ships were fleeing the station, while their own scanners had detected the bomber team coming towards them. "Launch the droid fighters and turn this ship into attack position. I want casualties maximized, target the transports first," he ordered. The droids around the ship responded with a programmed "Roger, roger," and began charging the ion cannon. It took several seconds to fire, but once it did, it released a massive circle of cracking purple energy straight at the republic transports. Not able to steer out of the way or jump to hyperspace, the ships were caught in the blast and completely dead, all defenses down. Immediately, the laser turrets mounted along the Malevolence opened fire. Given that the transports were now just floating in space, picking them off was easier than finding a calm Bantha . If he had the ability to do so, Grievous would have even smiled. As it was, he said "Recharge the cannon and prepare to fire again." "But sir, some of our forces will be caught in the blast," one of the droids protested. Grievous growling his response was "Fire at my command." Meanwhile, the ship had released several squads of Vulture droids, all of which were flying towards Skywalker's strike team. Both sides began firing on one another and the droid ships scattered to surround them. "Keep it steady, guys. Hold formation," Anakin ordered. But that soon proved impossible, and they were forced to break up to avoid being shot at. Anakin grunted as he ducked and weaved through the enemy fire. "Get those fighters off of us!" he ordered. "Your fancy flying isn't helping!" Ahsoka shot back, struggling to even aim while her Master kept swerving around. Then the ion cannon fired and came straight for them, prompting them all to begin flying towards the edge of the blast. The higher they flew, however, the more they noticed that one of them was lagging behind. "Shadow 2, what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked. "Nothing, ma'am. Just trying to keep it together," Matchstick said. But in truth, he was struggling more than he was letting on. The previous damage to his ship was getting worse, and the trail of smoke from his thruster was growing larger. A few seconds later, the clones thruster exploded, causing him to lose control and begin spiraling back downwards. "Look out!" he called to the ships below him. While two were able to dodge the falling ship, one did not, and both of them went up in a cloud of fire and shrapnel. Additionally, three ships didn't reach the edge of the ion blast in time, and were caught in it. Although he didn't want to hear it, he knew he had to say it. "Shadow Squadron, check in," he said. Ahsoka, sounding much more subdued than before, reported "We lost Matchstick and Tag. Shadows Six, Seven and Ten were caught in the blast." Five ships down. Not counting Plo Koon, that meant that there were only seven of them left to strike at the Malevolence. With their Vulture droids disabled, the enemy ship opened fire with its turrets, not giving Shadow Squadron any time to rest while trying to avoid the shots. "Stay on course!" Plo Koon ordered. The team reached the Malevolence and began flying along its hull, towards the bridge. Instantly Shadow Five was blasted from the side by several turret shots, and his ship crashed into the cruiser. Ahsoka gasped, dismayed at seeing another fellow team member fall. "Master," she began, before wincing as an explosion went off right next to them. "We need a new plan!" she urged him. But Anakin shook his head, saying "Don't worry, Snips. We can make it!" Only for Shadow Seven to be blow apart as well. "Master, you can make it, but everyone else is getting shot to pieces!" Ahsoka urged. Suddenly, the side of the Malevolence began glowing purple, showing that the ion cannon was preparing to fire. And this time, it was aimed at the medical station. Anakin looked forward, past the laser fire before them and towards the bridge. They could do it. They could keep going forward, fire at the bridge and take out this monster of a ship. All it would cost was the medical station. And as much as he wanted to destroy that cyborg, he couldn't accept that cost. However, just before he could issue a new target, he heard Plo Koon speak up. "Skywalker, I'm picking up several large contacts coming out of hyperspace. They don't appear to be Republic ships!" he said. "Reinforcements, Just great," he thought. Out loud, he told the rest of the squad "Then get ready, Things are about to get messy!" "I think that's the understatement of—What the heck?!" Ahsoka yelled, looking towards the location off to their left, where their scanner detected the ships. The rest of them looked as well… and saw for themselves what had shocked Ahsoka so much. It wasn't just several ships that appeared on the scanners, but there were dozens of smaller destroyer sized ships. They saw six unusual stealth ships that were ten times larger than the smaller star destroyer, but what everyone was staring at was the one giant, impossibly big, capital ship that was leading the unknown fleet. It looked to be hundreds of times bigger than the Malevolence. Looming was the saviors fleet capital ship with thousands upon thousands of blaster cannons covering the ship, but what caught Anakin's eye was the symbol on the sides of all the ships, star shaped with a rancor skull circled by flames. Christen looked on at the republics failing attempts to destroy the separatist ship, sensing his brother was part of the attack team. He couldn't hold off his attack any longer. Turning to commander Vibro, he told him to ready the transport torpedoes and a few seconds later he was told the troops were ready. He thought to himself 'This is where the fun begins.' Everyone who could see the unknown fleet; Shadow Squadron, the medical station, even the Malevolence along with their accompanying ships; were all frozen in shock at the arrival of this sudden and overwhelmingly giant fleet. None of the Jedi had seen these kinds of ships before, and could think of no planet or government that housed a capital ship of such size, Anakin estimated the capital ship was at least a hundred KM long and he could see the surface of each ship was loaded to the max with fire power. The first ones to come out of their shock were Grievous and the droids, and that was only due to them noticing that the six lead ships had fired 2 odd reddish emitting pod-like missiles at the Malevolence. The projectiles violently struck the ships side burrowing straight through its exterior. Once inside separatist droids crowded around the pods, confused as they heard a loud hiss then an exploding pop that began to deposit several squads from commander alpha troopers covered in black stealth like armor. Each was carrying a variety of blasters, and opened fire the moment that they landed on their feet. Alarms quickly began going off all over the bridge, and General Grievous looked around in shock. "What just happened? Give me a damn report!" he yelled. One of the droids responded "General, we appear to have been boarded! Enemy forces are being spotted on all several decks; they seem to heading here and the reactor of the ion cannon!" The Kaleesh cyborg snarled. "Send all available forces to those decks! I want this enemy destroyed!" he demanded. In his mind, it was the first time he was scared because he knew he could not destroy this unknown fleet. Meanwhile, the republics Shadow Squadron, who had been watching until just now, decided to act. "Whoever's chosen to help us, they've definitely got the Malevolence distracted." Now's our chance to take out that cannon!" Plo Koon said. Anakin, who smiled as he could see the unknown ships attacking Grievous. "Alright guys, we have a new target. Move to target the starboard ion cannon!" Anakin called. The rest of the strike team readily agreed and they all switched course for their new target. They still had to dodge flak from the turrets, but now the majority of it was focused on their new ally. Once they were close enough, Anakin called "Torpedoes away!" Each of them fired their torpedoes at the ion cannon, causing succession of blasts that shook the Malevolence. A high-pitched keening began to issue from the ion cannon, though since they were in space, none of them heard it. Indeed, Grievous had the cannon switch targets to the enemy fleet, and called "Fire!" The moment the cannon did fire, it exploded in a blast so forcefully that it knocked the entire ship from side to side, and also caused the ion cannon on the port side to detonate as well. Not knowing the only reason the ion didn't fire was be because of the unknown fleets soldiers aboard the ship taking what was powering the cannon. Shadow Squadron began flying towards the medical station, cheering. "Good work, everyone!" Plo Koon congratulated. The rest of them grinned; Anakin then received an incoming transmission. It was Obi-Wan, who was with the three Republic cruisers that were supposed to finish the job of destroying the Malevolence. "Anakin, do you copy? Have you and the rest of the strike team completed your objective?" he asked. Anakin grinned. "Somewhat. We've destroyed the ion cannons, though Grievous is still alive. But don't worry, Master. It looks like someone else has that handled," he said. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Someone else? What do you mean? You don't mean...?" He got his answer when the cruisers came out of hyperspace, and saw the massive fleet firing on the Malevolence. "…Oh. So that's what you meant," the Jedi general stated. Sighing as he thought of the fact that he had to tell the council. Aboard the Malevolence, Grievous rose to his feet, trying to shake of the slight cobwebs that had come with being knocked to the floor. "Damage report," he ordered. "The Republic forces seemed to have destroyed both of are primary weapons, Sir, but it seems that the power source from the crystal has also been taken, by the troopers aboard from the unknown fleet, and they have disabled our hyper drive," one of the droids reported. Grievous was silent for a moment, causing two of the droids to look at each other. In their experience, whenever the General was quiet, it meant one of two things. Either he was fully satisfied… or exceptionally angry. It turned out to be the latter. Grievous roared in rage and swung his arm, smashing the head of one of the droids completely from its shoulders. To the rest of them, he said "Begin a full retreat. Make for Separatist space. And destroy those boarders! Anakin, Plo Koon and Ahsoka entered the center of the medical station. The station's head doctor Nala Se, bowed at their arrival. "General Skywalker, I wanted to thank you for your valiant effort today. Do not take the lives you saved lightly," she said. Anakin nodded. "I won't, but I can't take the lives we lost lightly either. Nor were we solely responsible for the mission's success," he said solemnly. The clone that had been standing next to Nala spoke up. "Actually, sir, it's good that you mentioned that. We've received a single holo-message from this unknown fleet, and were going to replay it to General Kenobi. But since you're here, you might want to see it first," he said. At Anakin's nod of approval, the Kaminoan pressed a few buttons on the control panel, before the message appeared in front of them. It showed a very intimidating figure who they could see was Pamde's guard. It was hard to guess though, since he was wearing new armor. Alongside him stood six troopers in body armor holding very big unusual looking firearms strapped to their backs and sides, The Troopers armor consisted of black lavaish-colored plating along their torso, shoulders, arms and waist, with metal boots of the same color and each had different designs. They looked like they were hand me downs rather than tailor made. They also seemed to be young very young. Most notable, however, were the weapons the troops were carrying. Two held large shields that matched their armor, while the others… carried either one or two lightsabers on their belts. The leader, as they could see carried four lightsabers clipped on his belt, Both Anakin and Ahsoka stared, shocked at seeing that some of the Savior's troops wielded lightsabers. Did that mean there were others who wielded lightsaber as well? But were they all Force-sensitive children or just merely small adults? Despite the questions running through their heads, both Jedi focused on the tallest armored trooper to the left of christen when he spoke. "Representatives of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi order. In the name of our glorious Lord Savior and the ancient Jedaii order, you have been given this warning. The Saviors army has been released, we will not be on any sides, and we could blow you out of existence with our smaller ships. We only attacked this separatist ship because of information and objects it held that we're of interest to our Lord." The message ended and the savior's fleet turned from the wreckage of the Malevolence, was skewed over the area, and the fleet quickly disappeared as it entered hyperspace.

A week later...

The Jedi Council sat in a circle as they watched the holorecording replay itself. For once, all twelve members of the Council were present, even the ones who had been off-world when the events regarding the Malevolence took place. The mysterious fleet that appeared had completely annihilated the ship in mere moments, dealing irreparable damage to its exterior after only seconds of sustained laser fire. Then the droids that boarded it re-wired the ships' navigation systems to fly itself into a nearby star, not even leaving any wreckage behind. Unfortunately, for the republic Christian had made sure that General Grievous had been able to escape in his personal Starfighter before the ship's destruction. He had been the only one to do so—then, once the Malevolence was confirmed to be destroyed, the fleet of warships had jumped to hyperspace, leaving as suddenly as they had appeared. The only proof they had even been there in the first place were the eyewitness accounts of all the Republic forces that had been present and the message they had left behind. The news that other Force-users and military's were in the galaxy was not unheard of. However, never had they heard of a group of them that had gathered into a militaristic force. Even worse, the number of people composing this group was more powerful than anything in the republic. They had no idea how widespread the group was, so the Council had convened. The image of the Christen faded away, and Grandmaster Yoda looked around at his fellow Council members. "Dangerous and unknown, this new threat is. What have we to report?" he asked. Master Ki-Adi-Mundi went first. "I have been thoroughly searching the Jedi archives for some kind information regarding these Jedaii or of this Saviors army they spoke of. However, except for a single passage regarding the planet Tython, there was no information to speak of," he said. Master Mace Windu raised an eyebrow. "Well then let's hear it," he said. Mundi cleared his throat before pulling out a datapad. "Tython, it seems is the birthplace of this ancient order and it seems that it was also the birthplace of the Jedi. The planet is in the center of the galaxy, during this time was protected by the Jedaii, the enforcers of justice and balance. All will either be saved or fall before it," he read gravely. For a moment, there was silence, Obi-Wan couldn't help but state, "Well, that was certainly cheerful." Master Shaak Ti couldn't help but snort at that, though she quickly recollected herself and looked over at Mundi. "Is that all? There were no other entries about either subject?" she asked. Mundi shook his head. "Nothing even close to recent; even when I tried to look for Tython on the astrogation charts and Jedi lore on the planet it seems to be living with the force, but as for the Jedaii, no results appeared. As if the planet simply disappeared from historical records" he said. That caused several of them, Obi-Wan in particular, to narrow their eyes. The last time they had heard of a planet that "didn't exist", that planet had turned out to not only exists, but housed an alien species responsible for growing an entire army of clone troopers. As it was, Yoda said "Very well. And the next report?" Plo Koon leaned forward, pressing a few buttons on his own datapad and causing a holo-image of one of the smaller warships to appear in the center of the room. "While we haven't been able to acquire or even majorly damage one of ships to study, the fleet has been making several very brief appearances over the past few weeks in various parts of the galaxy. During each of these events, we've been able to glean some information as to their workings." "First of all, each ship of the fleet seems identical to one another in design, which is both good and bad. Good, because that means that if we find a way to disable one warship, we can hypothetically disable them all. Bad, because we still don't know anything other than the exterior and we have no idea what is on the inside. We do know that each one possesses quite formidable capabilities on their own, and much much more when in mass. Each one carries an impossible number of turbolaser turrets powerful enough to compete with our strongest battle cruisers, as well as cloaking technology and speed far surpassing any ships used by either us or the Separatists. Only some of our newer, more experimental models can barely keep up." Master Sasee Tiin grunted. "Yes, and rumors about them have already begun to spread throughout the Republic, but most of all the entire underworld. An unstoppable fleet of warships, one that can appear anywhere in the galaxy at any time, reek destruction with no survivors, and then vanish without a trace. Some of the more paranoid civilians have already given these ships a name: The Saviors army" he said. Indeed, while the Malevolence was the first target to fall to the Saviors Fleet, it was far from the last. Over the course of the past few months, the fleet have struck out against several ships or hidden outposts belonging to either the Republic or the Separatists. The second to go had been an outpost near Rishi that, once destroyed, had left Kamino exposed to the possibility of invasion. If the clone troopers stationed there hadn't sent out a distress signal before they were all killed, such an invasion might have indeed occurred.

Then there had been a previously unknown hidden research station the Separatists had underneath the waters on Naboo. The Saviors army had completely disintegrated the research station and destroyed everything inside, including a reproduced strain of the infamous 'Blue Shadow' virus, we still have no clues or leads asto if they were looking for something or if they took a sample of the virus, as these attacks seem to be random. The savior had even destroyed targets not specifically aligned to either faction, such as having a squad of their own droids—now known as death eater droids—they have assaulted countless Republic holding cells on Coruscant under the nose of everyone. They have even assassinated Ziro the Hutt and have the underground in fear. It didn't take Obi-wan long to see what was happening, and what this dark lord was doing. He could see The Saviors fleet was using its greater size and speed to launch an ambush campaign against any secret high-value targets involved in and or around the war. Each attack was specifically designed to create a level of destruction that would leave little to no evidence behind. The worst part was that this lord savior, had made sure that with each attack, they left behind only dead bodies and signs to prove that they were responsible, and nothing more. They still hadn't received another message since the first one. He needed to check with Padme on where her guard was. He felt he could shed some light because he seems to know everything. He thought with agitation. The final report was from Master Adi Gallia, who said "On a brighter note, the actions of Senator Amidala, with help from her "Guard", the Jedi said with distaste, "and Representative Binks, have enabled Republic forces to capture Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. He is currently being brought here to Coruscant to stand trial." Yoda tilted his head about his fellow Jedi's thoughts on the senators guard, but it soon turned into a smile. "Very good, that is. With Gunray captured, senator Amidala's guard the punisher, thank we must, for more information on Separatist movements, we might also obtain," he pointed out. Gallia nodded. "However we have no idea who he even is, considering how important that information as well as the viceroy himself are to both sides, we can't dismiss the possibility that the savior's army will take this chance to assassinate him just as they did to Ziro the Hutt. As such, we've assigned additional Jedi to protect him until he makes it here," she explained. Windu grunted. "Then let us hope that they will be enough," he said. And on that, everyone on the Council agreed.

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	8. Jedi dogs

I'm begging you; I'm a very wealthy man. Help me, and I promise you will be generously rewarded," Gunray said, looking at the half-dozen clones around him. The one closest to him smiled. "That is a very generous offer, Viceroy. In the meantime, though, I've got a gift for you," he said, and pulled out a pair of hand-cuffs. The Neimoidian stopped smiling at that, after which he then refused to say another word as he was lead to the ships holding cells. Ahsoka watched him go with a small smirk on her face, glad to see him getting some of his just rewards. Once the door closed behind them, she rejoined the three other Jedi on the bridge. There was the one she had originally been assigned with, Master Luminara Unduli. Then there were the two other Jedi that had arrived just as they were leaving Rodia—Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb and Luminara's own Padawan, Barriss Offee. A Master, a Knight and two Padawans, together, they would be more than enough to win against any assassins, or so they believed. But luckily they were not too far from Coruscant, and they had still yet to encounter any opposition. It was strange and, even more so, boring. Though for Ahsoka it was nice seeing the punisher again as he was the one to capture the Viceroy, with Padme and the Gungan. Master Luminara stepped forward. "Captain, have you been able to establish contact with the cruiser?" he asked. One of the two clones piloting the vessel nodded. "Yes, General. We'll try patching you through now," he said, before pressing a few buttons. On a screen above them, three armored members of Coruscant Security appeared. Luminara spoke up, saying "Republic cruiser Tranquility, this is Jedi General Luminara, asking for permission to board." Captain Argyus, said, "You're all clear, General. We await you and your prisoner." Then the screen went off, and the ship approached the Tranquility.

Ahsoka sighed. "Finally, we're here. This trip was a lot less fun than I'd thought it would be," she commented. Barriss chuckled. "Be glad for that, Ahsoka. A boring trip is a safe trip, and one that lacks any bumps in the road to catch us off guard," she advised. The ship reached the cruiser was landed inside, and the four Jedi assumed a diamond formation around Gunray. As they led him to the ship's detention center, they did their best to ignore his near-constant complaining. Even so, some of it managed to reach their ears.

"This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. I demand to see my lawyer!" he shouted. He was shoved along by Vebb, who said nothing.

Once they had met up with the Coruscant Security forces and passed Gunray off to them, the four Jedi walked off. Along the way, Barriss spoke up. "Master, I am curious. The viceroy doesn't appear to be all that dangerous. Why have all this additional security just for his sake?" she asked. Luminara frowned. "Be that as it may, do not let overconfidence cloud your judgement. Even as we speak, Gunray's allies may be conspiring against us. And even if they are not, we still have this mysterious fleet called the saviors army to consider. There's no way of knowing whether or not they will strike," she warned. Ahsoka clearly stiffened at the thought of the savior's fleet.

At that moment, several parsecs away, Count Dooku was aboard a separatist cruiser and kneeling before a hologram of his master, Darth Sidious. "Gunray's capture could be of great danger to us, my apprentice. If pushed too much, it will not take much for the Jedi to make him submit to their interrogation tactics," Darth Sidious warned. Dooku nodded. "I suspected that, My Lord, and have already put a plan into action. My best agent, Asajj Ventress, will infiltrate the Republic ship. When aboard the ship, she has orders to free Gunray or kill him. She is a gifted assassin in the dark side, Master. She will succeed," he assured. Sidious was silent for a moment, thinking. Eventually, he said "Very well. I will put my faith in you and your operative. You may proceed, and do not let this Savior destroy our plans again, he has destroyed and has taken too much information for my safety and yours." And with that, the hologram deactivated. The moment it did, the door behind Dooku opened, revealing that Ventress had been standing there the whole time. Without even looking behind him, the count said "There can be no margin of error this time, Asajj. It is timed that you proved yourself worthy of being my apprentice." Ventress smirked. "I am worthy, Master. You'll see," she said.

Captain Argyus looked into Gunray's holding cell. Inside, he could see the Viceroy and Luminara sitting across from each other, while the other Jedi leaned against the walls. Waving at one of the clones stationed nearby, he asked "How's the interrogation gone? Has he cracked yet?" Clone Commander Gree shook his head. "Not yet. But the Jedi will get it done, even with this shit scum, Neimoidian, as slippery as he is" he said confidently. Inside the cell, Luminara let Barriss try. The Jedi slowly stepped forward, and she and the viceroy locked eyes. After several moments, Gunray was the first to blink, and that was when Barriss spoke up. "Your eyes expose your fears. You're scared. Afraid of losing your wealth and your power, both of which you gained because of this war," she stated. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just a pawn, and a very innocent one," he said firmly. However, it was ruined by the fact that he looked away quickly, as if he was being forced to. Nadhar added on, saying "You are far from innocent. In fact, you are hiding a lot of things. The names of your allies, for one, and the locations of Separatist bases. You will tell us this." Gunray shook his head. "I know nothing!" he denied.

The Mon Calamari glared at him, and reached for his lightsaber. But Ahsoka, who had been silent until now, beat him to punch. She ignited hers and leaped forward, holding the blade inches from Gunray's throat. "I'm tired of your lies and all of your whining! Tell us what you know this instant or I will gut you!" she yelled.

The Viceroy cried out in fear and fell backward, tipping his chair over as he fell onto his back. Both Barriss and Nadhar stared at in her shock, though Nadhar's had less shock and more approval. Luminara moved quickly and grabbed Ahsoka by the arm, pulling her away. "Ahsoka Tano, fear is not something to strike into others, that is not the Jedi way!" she whispered harshly. Ahsoka angrily shook her head with a calm she didn't feel. "I wasn't actually going to kill him. But he'll only talk if he's frightened enough," she argued. Just as the Master was going to remind her that such a thing was not the Jedi way, they heard Gunray speak up. "Perhaps… I was a little too hasty to cast judgement. Maybe there is a chance for us to negotiate," he said, getting back to his feet. Ahsoka looked back at Luminara and smiled. However, before either of them could say anything, they were suddenly shaken as a loud powerful explosion went off, one large enough to cause the floor under them to tilt somewhat. Alarms began screaming, and Commander Gree activated his comm. "Bridge command, what happened? Answer me!" he said.

On the bridge, one of the clones ducked underneath the windows to avoid being seen through it. "Sir, its separatist's droid fighters. There's dozens of them coming right at us. And they've brought boarding ships," he said. Gree cursed, and switched frequencies. "Green Company, prepare to battle! I don't want anyone to board this ship!" he ordered. A chorus of "Yes, sir!" responded.

The droid ships continued on their path towards the republics ship , weaving in and out of the path of its laser turrets. Once close enough, the boarding ships dropped down and pierced right through the hull of the ship above the hangar. Green Company reached the hangar just as the ships opened, releasing a dozen B2 super battle droids. Once those droids landed on their feet, they reached forward and began firing with their wrist-mounted blasters. The clones took cover behind piles of supply crates and exchanged fire. Blue and red blasters zipped from side to side across the hangar. However, even though they lacked any cover, the droids continued marching forward and shooting. Once of them, with a grenade launcher mounted its wrist instead of a blaster, fired a shot and killed several clones in the ensuing explosion. And still more droids dropped from the boarding ships.

Jerking his head to the side and barely avoiding a blaster bolt between the eyes, one of the clones ducked behind a crate. "Green Company to Commander Gree! Enemy droids have breached our hull and have us outnumbered! We think they're headed for the detention center, but we need assistance!" he said. Then he looked up and saw one of the droids standing directly in front of him. The last thing Commander Gree heard was that the sound of blaster fire. Groaning as he fell over the clone took two shots to the heart penetrating his armor and killing him instantly. "This is not good. In fact, I don't see how it could get worse," One of the clones muttered under his breath as he gritted his teeth. As if fate had heard him, the clone still on the bridge noticed a light on the command console began to flash red, and contacted him. "Sir, our sensors are also detecting several large-" he began. Then he peeked over the edge of the console, and stopped. While the droid fighters were boarding he noticed behind them there were a dozen large battlecruisers, each of them looking very familiar. "Commander, its The Saviors fleet. They're here but it seems to be a different fleet that we have seen before," he said, causing everyone who heard the transmission to freeze in fear.

Aboard his lead capital ship of his newly appointed alpha fleet, Christen in his fiery colored armor waited to board the Republic ship along with a platoon of death eater droids. His orders for them were very simple. Fight their target, kill them, and then flee. Christen knew he couldn't kill the Jedi, but he needed to remove any opposition that got in the way. Simple and easy to understand, he was confident enough in his newly built droids to get it done but, he was still worried about his daughter. The separatist ships seem to have countered the Tranquility's laser fire with their own, matching it hit for hit and also taking no damage by directing power to their forward shields. Once the lead ship was close enough, Christen along with his daughter Amber got into the boarding pod.

Gree had to refrain from banging his head against a wall. "Okay, so it did just get worse," he said.

Luminara took command. "Commander, you will come with me. I'll need your assistance," she said, and exited the cell. When Ahsoka began to follow her she stopped and looked back. "You three will stay here with Captain Argyus. Guard the Viceroy do not let anything get inside this room," she ordered. Nadhar and Barriss both nodded, though Nadhar didn't seem pleased about the prospect of staying put. At the same time, Ahsoka said "What? But-" She stopped when she noticed the hard cold stare Luminara was giving her; one that clearly told her that the order wasn't up for debate. Bowing her head, Ahsoka said "Yes, Master." Once Luminara was gone, Gunray couldn't help but add his two cents. "It appears that there will be no need to negotiate after all, Jedi. Perhaps after I am rescued, then I might be willing to hear you make an offer," he said. Nadhar had to resist going back into the cell to punch him for that. Ahsoka just wanted to simply ask this monster, Lord Savior, why he is fighting the republic.

Back inside the hangar deck, once all the separatist battle droids had left, one more person dropped from the boarding ships. It was none other than Ventress, who looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. It wasn't. One of the clones had managed to stay alive, and saw her. Quickly, she activated both of her lightsabers and charged. The clone tried to move back and issue a warning. "All units, there's a bald-!" he started, before Ventress silenced him permanently via cutting off his head. As the head rolled away, the comlink was still on. "Trooper, what have you found? Come in!" he said. Ventress smirked and picked the device off the body before attaching it to her own arm. Spotting an air duct, she Force-leaped towards it and used her lightsaber to cut open a hole. On the comlink, she could hear the clones still talking to each other.

"Death eater droids and Super battle droids are everywhere firing against each other, the death eaters seem to be winning! Fall back to the detention level! We have to protect the prisoner!" Ventress narrowed her eyes at that, and began moving forward through the air duct. As she had only ever heard rumors of this Lord Savior and his elite fleet.

Eventually, she reached an opening, and carefully moved the grate covering it to the side. From the looks of it, she had reached the main engine, and generator room. Standing on the walkway to the generators was a republican surveillance droid. Not a challenge. By the time the droid looked over the area where the air duct was, the grate was already back in place, and Ventress was nowhere to be found. Two clone troopers entered the room after the droid, and also began looking around. "See anything?" one of the asked. The droid responded with a shake of the head, indicating that it hadn't. "Right. Seems like the engine room is clear. We'll lock it down, just to be safe," the clone said. "Good idea. Then we should get going to help the Jedi on the prison level. 327, you keep watch here," the second clone said. The droid swiveled its head to look at him, giving off an annoyed squeaking. The clone took a step back. "Alright, alright, 327-T," he amended.

"You know droids don't like being given nicknames," the first clone stated, and the two of them left the engine room. 327-T continued its surveillance. Ventress, however, was on top of one of the engines, out of its line of it moved far enough away, she pulled several bombs from her pocket and began throwing them. Each one stuck to whatever surface they hit, but also alerted the droid to the sound of them whistling by. Ventress kept moving to stay out of its line of sight, and planted each charge one at a time. Once the last charge was set, she leaped back to the grate and slipped back inside, 327-T none the wiser.

Along the halls of the ships, Green Company tried to hold off the marching separatists droids as best as they could. But what the super battle droids lacked in skill, despite their name, they made up for in numbers and fire power. As the distance closed between them, it became harder to avoid being shot at. Two troopers found that out the hard way, as they fell to ground with smoke rising from them. The droids nearly reached them when they were suddenly shot at from the side. In the hallway connecting to theirs, several death eater droids had reached their position and opened fire. Half of the Separatist droids switched target to handle the new threat, while the other half focused on Green Company. The two sets of droids fired at one another, not stooping as their allies were blasted into pieces or when sustaining their own injuries. But the death eaters were only a ruse, something the super battle droids found out a moment later, as none of the droids had fallen under fire "Useless fucking droids!" Christens voice called, as one of the B2 droids was cut in to pieces. He revealed himself to the clones in his newly minted armor, holding his two lava double bladed lightsabers, proud new grandmaster of the Jedaii order.

The B2 droids now split into three groups to attack their multiple enemies. Christen quickly force sprinted forward twirling his sabers and deflecting the initial wave of blaster fire. Throwing his lightsabers forward, spinning fast enough to make a high pitched scream from the wind, his saber severed the legs of a squadron droid, causing it to fall sideways. Due to the small space of the hallway his lightsaber accidentally sliced through three of his own droids which fell to the floor with a thud. When the surviving droids tried to shoot at him in his crouched position, he straightened up holding his hand out as his saber came back to him. He began to spin his sabers in circular motion, deflecting every single one of the blaster bolts that came at him. Each one hit a droid. The droids just kept pouring out and kept firing, forcing him on the defensive. Fortunately, a voice behind him called "Father, get down!" and he hit the floor.

Behind him stood his daughter in the armor he made right before going to Korribon. He didn't tell Abigail he had brought her on a mission, but he knew she was ready. No matter how many days he would have to sleep on the couch if she ever found out. Amber extended her arm and shouted, releasing a force scream full of energy that passed over him. Hitting the droids, some droids were torn apart, but most of were sent flying back, firing wildly as they tried to spin and dodge the deflected blasts. Daughter and father reached out and stopped them from hitting the far wall, and rotated the droids in mid-air to fire on the other separatists droids attacked from three different sides as the death eaters finished blasting the remaining battle droid. Christen let Amber finish off the ones they were manipulating by smashing them into each other.

Christen softly sighed and detached his lightsabers back into four, placing them back on his belt. "Thanks for the save back there, guess you're learning fast, but you still need practice with your precision," he said. His daughter nodded, turning through one of the halls, but they were approached by the remaining clone troopers before she could respond to him. There were four of them in total, all aiming their blaster rifles at the two Jedaii. "Hands where we can see them. And don't try anything funny," one of them warned. Christen reached into the clones minds with the force, just as he thought they were too afraid to fire. Both looked at the clone for a moment, and then at each other. Christen smiled underneath his mask, his daughter was doing the same, "Just let me handle this young apprentice," Christen told her through their force connection. After a moment of thought, his daughter shrugged. Without further notice, Christen was a speeding blur of lava with the sounds of igniting lightsabers and a force scream. Lunging forward he grabbed two of his sabers stabbing them into the stomach of one of clones quickly twirling and decapitating the clone.

The others reacted and aimed for him, but he quickly kicked one of them in the knee, a loud snap was heard as his unbreakable armor met the clones' armor. Blood splattered out as the leg was completed destroyed. He then extended his arms and grabbed the other two with the Force, raising them into the air.

"I don't like to be a hostage. I will relish in your death," he said shortly, and crushed their bodies as the sound of bones and armor breaking and snapping as bright red flowed from the cracks. He turned to see that Amber had killed the one he had injured. All four bodies dropped to the floor, Christen continued onwards as if just walking in a park. Amber who was used to her father's ruthlessness was still shocked.

Ahsoka opened her eyes, having chosen to try and meditate to pass the time. When doing so, she could sense all the fighting above, and could feel as the two Jedaii tore through the enemy droids… also cutting down several clone troopers. Beside her, Nadhar gripped his lightsaber tightly. "Cutting down those soldiers simply because they were in the way… Despicable, just plain evil," he said with anger emitting from him.

Before he could say anything else, however, they turned to see them being quickly approached by Captain Argyus. "Padawans Tano and Offee, Knight Vebb, may I have a word?" he requested.

Ahsoka nodded slowly and stood up. As she did, she was able to fake a smile and look back at Gunray. "Looks like your rescue didn't work out after all. You won't go anywhere while we talk, right?" she asked. But she knew those Jedaii could be coming any second. The Neimoidian gave her a half-hearted glare. "Oh, ha-ha. When you return, I am ready to discuss our negotiations again," he said reluctantly.

The three Jedi followed the Captain to the control room. "I've just been given the all-clear. The droids have been repelled, the death eaters have seemed to go back to their ships, and Master Luminara had contacted me letting me know she is moving to intercept the Knights of the Jedaii now," he reported.

Barriss smiled and was about to speak… when they heard the sound of a lightsaber cutting through metal. Looking behind the Captain, they saw part of the ceiling of the control room fall in, and from the opening dropped none other than Ventress. The two soldiers near her went for their weapons, but she kicked them both in the chest before they could aim, each blow caving in their armor and making them hit the walls with enough force to be rendered unconscious. The three Jedi ignited their lightsabers and moved in front of the Captain, blocking the way to Gunray's cell. "Well, if it isn't the hairless night sister," Ahsoka said. Ventress took the insult in stride, replying "If it isn't Skywalker's filthy, obnoxious pet. And what's more, you even brought friends."

Nadhar stepped forward. "As entertaining as trading insults might be, I am looking for a fight. For all the lives you have ended, I will make sure you do not leave this ship!" he said.

Ventress ignited both of her lightsabers in response, the total of five blades filling their room with the sound of their humming. However, just as she was going to attack, the door behind them suddenly burst open, as the metal doors smashed into the opposite wall. The four of them looked and saw Christen and Amber standing there silently taking responsibility for the intrusion. Immediately, Amber screamed "There's the target!" and leaped forward… at Ventress. Christen screamed at his daughter "No you stupid girl," but he was too late.

What happened next was utter bedlam. He knew she would be too eager to kill. Seeing Amber jump at her, Ventress quickly jumped towards the ceiling, causing her to sail past her and towards the Jedi. Nadhar and Barriss both reacted and Force-pushed the knight away, causing her to suddenly reverse direction and fly back across the room. She gracefully landed on her feet, Christen growled as he put a firm hand on his daughters shoulder. "You will do as I fucking say. I will deal with these weaklings, keep that night sister and the viceroy from leaving!" he yelled. He walked quickly towards Barriss with all four lightsabers ignited.

Rather than wait for Amber to do the same, Ahsoka charged and engaged her in combat, both of their blades striking sparks as they hit. That left Nadhar to engage Ventress, who had landed back down and was about to slip by. "Not so fast, witch!" the Mon Calamari yelled, swinging to cut her legs from underneath her. Ventress stopped before she was in range and let the attack pass by, before moving closer and swinging at Vebb in an X. He leaned away from the strike and countered with a horizontal sweep, which Ventress ducked under and tried to go for his legs. Rather than jump over the blades and let her swing from below, he blocked both lightsabers and shoved, trying to overpower her strength with his own. It didn't work. After a few seconds of pushing against each other, Ventress overpowered Nadhar and pushed him back, sending him sliding down the hall. Grinning, she chased after him.

Amber, meanwhile, had made a defensive stance to counter Ahsoka's assault. While her skills with a lightsaber made her no stranger to unusual forms of combat she still had only practiced with droids. Ahsoka was using an older form of Form V, Shien, which utilized a reverse grip on one's lightsaber. Amber had still been working on mastering this form. This made it harder for Amber to predict where she would strike next. Still, Ahsoka's own inexperience at fighting a powerful force-wielder made them somewhat evenly matched.

Amber went for a stab to the stomach which Ahsoka blocked, pushing the blade to side and leaving her front open. Before she could capitalize on it, however, Amber spun quickly and brought her lightsaber around from the side, forcing the Padawan to duck under it or have her head cut off. Amber continued her rotation and followed it with a spinning kick, which Ahsoka blocked with her forearm. The Padawan withheld a grunt of pain at the strength behind the blow, only aided by the fact that Amber was wearing armor. Quickly, the female Knight withdrew her leg and struck again, now forcing Ahsoka to a more defensive stance while Amber went for offense.

Christen, on the other hand, had been on the offensive right from the start, even though he was simply playing with the Jedi. While each second they fought he gained more information from her mind as he could surpass her weak barriers without her knowing. Every attack that he had made was an attempt to crush Barriss's defense and hack her to pieces, leaving her almost no room to counter. Blocking an overhead from two front lightsabers striking that was intended to split her in half, she said "You don't have to do this! Surrender, and no one here needs to be harmed!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Even though his helmet kept her from seeing his face she looked straight in his eyes, Barriss could feel Christens lava eyes burn her very being, as if it was taking the living force from her, which had temporarily made her pause in terror. Christen growled which made her lose focus on his eyes. "This will end in your death!" he yelled, and tightened his grip on his lightsabers; detaching his lightsabers putting two back onto his belt. He spun before slashing powerfully at her chest. His use of the Force increased the momentum behind the blow and there was a bright red flash that blinded the Jedi. Just for a moment the flash caught the eyes of everyone in the room. Barriss looked on squinting in pain as she saw her lightsaber was still in front of her and seeing the saviors lightsabers still ignited by his side. Despite deflecting the blades, Barriss was suddenly thrown back a few meters as Christen lightly force pushed her. She stared her opponent down, but suddenly noticed a stinging feeling envelope her whole body, mainly her chest. Looking down she could see the man's lightsabers had slashed an x into her chest not deep enough to kill her, but she fell back into unconscious.

It was at this point that the clone troopers arrived from down the hallway, and Ahsoka was the first to notice them. "Shoot them! Shoot them now!" She ordered. The guards nodded and fired at Ventress and the Knights. Christen merely stood still over the seemingly dead Jedi padawan, letting his armor take the blows deflecting back into each clone. Amber, meanwhile, spun her lightsaber like a windmill and repelled any that neared her. And Ventress stood in shock as she stared, along with the Jedi, at Christen. He had killed all of them, except for Captain Argyus, without even lifting a finger. Christen picked up the Captain with the Force and threw him into Nadhar, knocking both of them to the ground.

With her opponent finished, Ventress ran towards Gunray's cell. As she tried to undo the electric lock, he said "Hurry! Get me out of here and you can have a planet!" Sparing a glare at the Neimoidian, she said "Be quiet or I'll have your head!" That shut the viceroy up. However, before she could disengage the lock, her senses spiked and she spun around, just barely blocking a bone crushing blow from Christen. She saw Barriss behind him on the ground barely conscious and blinking rapidly. Bariss started panicking when she remembered her chest was slashed opened as spots of red danced in front of her vision and her head throbbed in pain. She had been almost killed, so she was not surprised how she was feeling. She looked for Ahsoka, and saw her as she force pushed the smaller of the Jedaii into a wall.

Ventress barely pushed Christen, away and was surprised as he reached out with the Force, grabbing her by the neck and seemingly paralyzing her whole body . Ventress gasped and tried to break his hold as blood started to exit her nose and ears from the extreme pressure, but Christen held strong. Slowly, he raised her into the air and watched with dark satisfaction as her struggles grew more intense and frantic. He could feel her life force fade with each passing second. He smiled as he continued getting information from her mind as she weakened. He was forced to release her when Ahsoka attacked, having broken away from his daughter and charged at him. Quickly, he threw a volley of lava lightning at her which made the Torguta scream as she was thrown back. He then threw Ventress off to the side smashing her head against the durasteel walls. He opened the cell door and sidestepped as Ahsoka slid past him and Gunray, who slipped out of the cell . Christen quickly re-shut the door.

Gunray laughed at seeing the female Togruta in the exact same spot he had been in. However, before he could gloat, he was forced to the side by Christen, who blocked an attack from Nadhar with one lightsaber and struck with the other, cutting him across his legs and sending him to the ground. Gunray thought he had a chance to gloat not realizing Christen was going to kill him. He looked back at Ahsoka. "Now, this is truly a delicious irony. How do you like your new room, little one?" he taunted. Ahsoka gritted her teeth and swung at him. Her lightsaber was deflected by the energy shield, though she still succeeded in scaring Gunray. He tried taking several steps back in fear, but suddenly felt a pain in his chest and saw two lava colored lightsabers protruding from his chest. He looked at Christen one last time before he was dismembered into pieces and his body parts fell with a loud thud. Ahsoka was in horror, how could someone just kill like that. It was at that moment that, the elevator opened and Master Luminara arrived. Quickly, she took in the sights of her dying padawan, Ashoka in the cage, and a legless Nadhar groaning in pain on the ground. And of what could only be the dismembered body of the Viceroy lying at the feet of the infamous Lord Savior and his much smaller Jedaii partner. Quickly, she drew her green lightsaber and charged, calling "Halt, Lord Savior!" She used the force to push down the lock behind him to disengage the cell, opening the door. Ventress, who seemed to Christen, to be dumber then his ass, leaped out at the Jedi master. Ahsoka who ran past him to help her fellow Jedi, but Ventress blocked a strike from both Luminara and Ahsoka. The remainder of Green Company pointed their blasters at Ventress.

With all of those weapons aimed at her, she chose not to attack. Instead, she deactivated her lightsabers and slowly placed her hands behind her head. Only for them to notice the blinking red light on the metal band around her wrist. It released a loud chime, and everyone could hear and feel all the bombs she had laid below the deck, as they went off. Destroying the generator room and rocking the entire cruiser from side to side.

Christen was staring at Ambers unconscious body as he attempted to use the force to wake her up. Ventress took advantage of the distraction and quickly force-pushed Luminara out of the way and ran towards the elevator. The surviving clones of Green Company tried to shoot her down, but she deflected the shots with her lightsabers, and then used them to slide down the wall of the elevator shaft.

Ahsoka and Luminara followed, and as Ahsoka looked back she saw Christen staring with his fire eyes right into her soul, as they both turned to jump down the elevator shaft. "Well, what are we waiting for?" The master Jedi asked, and as both were about to jump down. Suddenly they felt Christens metal armored hands crunching both of the Jedi's arms stopping them from being crushed by the elevator that rushed right past them. Both Jedi quickly tore away from his grip as let them go. They both looked at the pair of Jedaii "Thanks," Ahsoka said. Christen stared straight into the master Jedi's green eyes as she had not thanked him. "It is very disrespectful not to thank someone for saving your poor life JEDI" Christen growled making both Jedi's fear spike. Upon noticing that Ventress was gone, he ignited his two blades and pointed it at the Jedi.

Ahsoka and Barriss were stumbling and struggling to stand up, but all drew their weapons in response, but the fight was stopped by Amber and Luminara respectively. "Father, you need to calm down. The night sister is no longer here. Don't waste your energy by fighting any additional foes," she advised him, lightly grabbing his arm and slowly, but firmly, lowering it. She knew what she said was beyond hypocritical. "Father?," the Jedi echoed in confusion

Christen growled, but saw the truth in his daughters words, and seeing the terrified look on his brothers padawans face, slowly he deactivated his lightsabers and placed them back on his belt. In the background he could see the Jedi he had merely scratched with his lightsaber's had gotten up, though she looked to be on the verge of death. He saw her heal herself a little. Luminara, meanwhile, stepped closer to them. "I feel as if there has been a misunderstanding. Were you not here to assassinate Viceory Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation?" she asked, keeping her words polite, though direct. Christen snorted, muttering "As if I would waste my fleets time worrying about that useless federation slime. I got what I needed from him." Amber sighed in annoyance, and looked at the Jedi Master. "What my lord is trying to say is, no, we came here for information" she was going to continue but got cutoff by her father. "I had learned of his capture on Rodia and suspected that the Confederacy would send a night sister to capture or kill him. So, I ordered my fleet to board this ship and extract information before he was sent to the senate," he explained.

Luminara frowned to have learned that someone knew of the Gunray's capture so quickly and also spoke to how well their intelligence operations were. Having anticipated a rescue attempt before it even happened suggested that whoever was ordering these Knights around knew how to strategize. And that could spell problems in the future. "Then it appears we have a common enemy. So rather than try and kill each, and give Ventress a chance to succeed, why don't we work together to find and capture her?" she offered.

The other members of the room blinked multiple times in confusion. Christen was glaring at Luminara with enough force to burn holes in her body, when he said "I will not work with those who disprove of love and emotion. I will not have my order, lower themselves by working with scum Jedi like you?!"

Barriss, still in shock over her wounds on her chest which somehow didn't even kill her let alone not needing medical attention, heard Christens remark stepped closer to the large armored Human. "I dare you to call us the Jedi Order 'scum' again. Please, do it," she said, palming her lightsaber. Christen growled and took his own step forward. "I'd be happy to finish you off little girl. And I won't even need to move to kill you," he said. As the little Jedaii quickly grabbed her throat she let out a soft scream before flying across the room and falling in a heap of cries. Ahsoka was about to start fighting when she was pulled back by the master Jedi.

"I have what I came for, I did have a fun time playing with you Jedi but I will depart" Christen spoke with confidence as he pressed a couple buttons in is armor. Amber was confused by this, in which time the atmosphere in the room became tense. Eventually, however, she nodded. "Very well my lord, but if you Jedi show your faces in our missions again we will respond with your death," She warned. "The same could be said for you," Ahsoka added then paused before yelling at Christen, " Lord Savior why are you no..." being cutoff when her vision went black because Christen used the force to make her pass out before she could tell any more secrets. Luminara gave the unconscious Palawan a look of worry, then discovered with terror in her heart that they were all alone as if the savior was never there.


	9. Icy times

So im new at this so i dont know how to do the spacing. Sowwry

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Senator Padmé Amidala worked hard to prevent herself from sighing as she had heard about this new threat to the republic. What was worse was that once again, her efforts to reach out to any of the Separatist controlled worlds be it to either sway them to their side or pursue a peace treaty, both ended in failure. Either the leaders of the planet had rejected all of her messengers before they even had the chance to bring it up. It was almost as if they wanted the war to keep going. "Work bringing you down my angel?" she heard a voice ask. Smiling despite herself, she looked and saw Anakin Skywalker, her husband—it still felt wonderful to say that—enter her office. He had that trademark smirk of his on, the one that could both infatuate and infuriate her, much like the man himself. She realized that it was curiously the same as Christens. "You could say that. The hearings in the Senate have come to a standstill regarding any minimizing of the war effort. Now, it's pretty much everyone shouting at each other over and over until the session's over, even Abigail and Christen are beginning to grow angry," Padmé said. Anakin nodded. "So, I've heard. But Gunray was murdered by the savior, wouldn't that have made the peace talks easier?" he asked curiously.

Padmé shook her head. "You would think it would, but no, in fact, that probably only made things worse. Ever since his death, representatives from both the Trade Federation and his home planet of Cato Neimoidia have been lobbying the Senate to take a firmer stance in the war. They want revenge against the saviors' army for what happened, Abigail has had to go out so many times for meetings I can't go to, then Christen has these missions all the time," she explained. Anakin frowned. "Then they're going to be shouting for a while. All that the search for the saviors army has revealed is that it isn't anywhere from the Deep Core out to the unknown Regions. Even then, that still leaves most of the galaxy for them to be hiding in," he said. "Exactly and we've been trying to tell them that, but they won't listen. They want blood, and the longer it takes to spill it, the less they're going to care who it's from," Padmé said, the sigh she had been fighting back finally escaping her.

Anakin moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Without saying anything, he merely began moving his fingers and massaging the muscles there. Padmé blinked in surprise but didn't stop him. It felt great.

Unknown to her, Anakin was actually using the Force, using it to send healing energy from his hands into her. He wasn't nearly as good at it as some of the other Jedi; he much preferred fighting. But it got the job done, as he felt the tension slowly melt away from Padmé's shoulders and neck. Eventually, he had managed to remove all the stiffness, and Padme leaned back into her chair, this time sighing in relaxation. Looking up at him, she said "Thank you. I needed that."

Anakin leaned down and kissed her slowly, taking the time to enjoy the touch. It was always worth it to spend time with his angel, no matter what time. Just being in her presence was enough to fill him with warmth. And where he was going, he was going to need it. As it was, the moment had to end, and he pulled back. "I should go. Obi-Wan and I are supposed to investigate an attacked outpost on some ice planet. We leave soon," he told her. Padme grunted, just as unhappy as he was at not being able to continue, but accepting it all the same. "Take care not to get any frostbite while you're there," she said teasingly. Anakin's chuckle of laughter was the last she heard of him as he left, and she returned to her work with a smile on her face.

It was freezing and there was lots of snow that hit the Jedi first. The moment the ships had landed on the surface of Orto Plutonia, they were greeted by waves of ice and snow thanks to the storm that surrounded them. Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with the legion of clone troopers, had worn full-bodied thermal gear with thick padding to keep themselves from freezing. Their escort, on the other hand, had no need for such protection. Both of them were humanoid like aliens, save for blue skin and yellow eyes. The first was a young woman with long pastel purple hair held up in a headdress, wearing a set of ceremonial robes. The other was an elderly male with white hair beneath his cap, more stern then soft features, and wearing a worn out military uniform. These were Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman Chi Cho, the ones they had been assigned to lead and also the representatives of the nearby moon of Pantora. Anakin shuddered as the winds hit his face. Obi-Wan fared only a tiny bit better, commenting "And this is supposed to be the planet's tropical zone!"

"It's not Tatooine, that's one thing," Anakin replied, before turning back to his troops. "Rex, have your troops unload all the gear and place as many ion sensors around as possible. It'll look as if it will be dark soon," he ordered.

"Right away Sir! You heard him, men! Move it!" Rex replied, saluting him before walking off.

Behind them were C-3PO and R2-D2, having been brought due to being a diplomatic droid. And the moment he was off the gunship, he started complaining. "My word, it is frigid out here. Why would the Republic want an outpost all the way out on this planet?" he thought aloud. When R2 responded in a series of beeps, the droid stared. "Because the Chairman requested it? Why would he do something like that?" he asked. Looking over at the Chairman and the Senator, Obi-Wan said "Until the area is secure, it would be best for you two to wait here." Chairman Cho snorted in disdain. "I respect your judgement, General, but this is sovereign Pantora territory. I will go where I choose," he stated.

"Wait. Sovereign territory? I thought this planet was uninhabited? If it is, that means it's not aligned with any government," Anakin said.

Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say. Cho stepped closer to Anakin and leaned down so that they were at eye level. "Our moon of Pantora is the only civilized planet in this system, and I'm the one who asked the Senate to protect this planet. It belongs to us," he said, making it clear that he wasn't taking no for an answer. Unfortunately, that was exactly the answer Obi-Wan had. "With all due respect, Chairman, that's for the Senate to decide, not us," he said. "Ah, but the Jedi reports to the Senate, one of which is Senator Chu Chi here," the Chairman countered, waving a hand at the Senator. At being put on the stand, Chu Chi spoke up. "Technically speaking, Master Kenobi, he is correct. Since Ori Plutonia is uninhabited, Pantora has the right to act as its protectorate, and will retain that right," she said. Conceding the point, Kenobi left to join up with the troops and began making their way towards the nearby outpost. The outpost itself had been the entire reason for coming here. It had only been recently established, and yet the communications with it had stopped overnight. This usually meant one of two things. Either the entire outpost itself had been destroyed… or it was still standing and everyone there had been killed.

Once they reached the outpost, the fact that there was no wreckage confirmed the latter possibility. However, once they had opened the main doors, they were treated to a rather strange sight. In front of them were a series of spikes set into the ground in a semicircle. And on top of each spike was the helmet of a clone trooper. No bodies, just the helmets. The further into the outpost they ventured, the more helmets on spikes they kept seeing. The bodies of the clones they belonged to begin appearing soon after. Even stranger, however, was that there were no blaster marks on any of the bodies. It looked as if the troops have been fought with more primitive weapons, such as spears or swords.

Looking around at the carnage, Chairman Cho said "Savagery like this can only be the work of the Separatists. Get the weapon systems back online and the shields operational. There's no telling what they have planned." Riyo looked at him. "Chairman, what makes you so certain the Separatists are the ones behind this attack?" she asked hesitantly. Cho looked at her as if she had just asked whether snow was cold. "Look around you, Senator. Isn't the damage before us proof enough? For all we know, they could be planning to make a forward base to attack Pantora," he said. "Yes, I'm aware that it's possible. But there are no dead droids here, no blast marks on the bodies. It's not consistent with what-" she said, only for the Chairman to interrupt her. "So, you're an expert on warfare now, are you, Senator Chu chi?" he demanded. Riyo lowered her gaze. "No, Chairman, please I was only-" "Let me tell you something, Senator. I've been in the position I am in for longer than you've been alive, and seen over a hundred governments fall through force of arms. I will not let Pantora become one of them, even if it costs me my life. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?" he asked bitingly. The senator was silent, thoroughly cowered by her senior's diatribe. However, Obi-Wan spoke up. "I don't think we're dealing the Separatists here. Nor does this look like the work of the Eternal Alliance," he said.

As if to confirm this, Anakin appeared. "Master, the sensors are in place. Our forward scouts also found an abandoned droid base nearby, and-" he began. "A droid base! See, I told you this was Separatists!" Cho interrupted again, glaring at the Jedi. Anakin glared right back and continued "And their base had been attacked just like ours. Droid heads on spikes and everything. Their comm logs placed this as the last transmission they received." Taking out a holoprojector, he replayed the message. In front of them appeared the hologram of a droid soldier, who was firing at… something.

"Unit 685 to command. Our retreat has been blocked, and we need reinforcements!" it said urgently. After a few moments of firing, the droid added "It's no good! They've overrun the base! Ahh!"

Just then, the droid was tackled from behind by a large mass. It attacked too swiftly for them to get a good look at it, but they saw that it was covered in white fur and had a set of large claws, as evidenced by the fact that it used them to shear the droid's head off. And with that, the message ended. Obi-Wan ran a hand over his beard, thinking. "Whatever that thing was, it's a strong warrior. Where did the transmission come from?" he asked.

It was Rex who answered, stating "According to the comm logs, that droid was part of a squad investigating the southern canyon." "Then that's where we'll start looking for whoever's responsible for this. Rex, stay here and guard the Senator and Chairman. We're going to take a look," Anakin ordered.

After getting their speeders to warm up enough to take outside, the two Jedi raced through the snow-covered landscape. The coordinates for where the droid had fallen were already programmed, and they arrived in little time.

Once there, they found the headless remains of the droid squad, with the missing heads once again on spikes next to them. Beyond that, there was no other evidence as to who had attacked them. However, once he took out a pair of macrobinoculars, Obi-Wan noticed something odd. "I'm seeing reflections of light coming from several of the cliffs. Anakin, can you see it?" he asked. Taking out his own set, Anakin looked and saw the same thing. "Yep. Whoever it is, they know we're coming," he said, quickly putting them away and getting back in the speeder. Obi-Wan did the same, and they sped further into the canyon. Near the end of it, across an ice bridge, they finally found their unknown attackers.

It was a small village composed of primitive huts, built into the wall of the cliff and filled with aliens. Each of them was large, bipedal and covered in shaggy white fur with five-fingered clawed hands. They each had four black eyes, one pair smaller than the other and small proboscis tubes for mouths. Accompanying them were a set of cat-like mounts, who growled at the Jedi, came closer. Anakin and Obi-Wan came to a stop in front of the village, and slowly got out. The Talz slowly came closer, several of them holding sharp spears. Anakin began to reach for his lightsaber, but Obi-Wan said "Steady, my former Padawan. We haven't done anything to provoke them, unlike the droids or our troops must have. Let's try to resolve this peacefully."

Slowly, reluctantly, Anakin let go of his lightsaber and nodded, looking at the Talz's spears warily. Letting Obi-Wan take the lead, the two of them approached the village and were stopped by a pair of guards. However, one of the Talz, taller than others and wearing a sort of headdress, waved them aside. The guards relented and the lead Talz walked away, gesturing for the Jedi to follow. Doing so, Anakin commented "Too bad we didn't bring 3PO with us. How exactly are we going to communicate with these things?" "I'll think of something," was his former Master's reply. The Talz leader led them inside a one of the huts, inside of which were several others around a fire.

The two Jedi sat opposite of them, and the lead Talz began talking. What he was trying to say, however, was completely unintelligible to the Jedi, having no idea what the series of chirps, buzzes and snarls meant in Basic. Trying to get their message across, Obi-Wan said "We come to you in peace. We mean you no harm."

Anakin blinked as an idea came to him, and he picked up one of the cloths on the ground before grabbing a piece of charcoal from the fire. Quickly, he drew a picture of two stick figures shaking hands, and showed it to the Talz. "Peace," he said slowly. The Talz stared at the drawing, but the lead one shifted his gaze to the Jedi. The two sides didn't speak for almost a minute until; finally, the Talz nodded his head.

Later, Obi-Wan and Anakin returned to the outpost just as it was getting dark outside. However, their expressions did not speak of success. Rather, their expressions were grave, and Rex could tell something was bad even before he spoke. "Glad to have you back, sir. It's getting dark out there, and the storm's picking up as well," he said.

Anakin nodded. "You don't know the half of it," he said glumly. Before Rex could ask what the problem was, the two Jedi were approached by Chairman Cho and Senator Chu Chi. "General. What did you find?" Cho asked. "It would seem, unlike what we first thought, that this planet actually is inhabited. By a tribe of Talz nonetheless," Obi-Wan said.

The chairman's eyes widened, before he sneered. "That is completely impossible. Our explorers have spent much time here over Pantora's history, and never found anyone living here. These creatures must be trespassers," he stated. Anakin shook his head. "Actually, Chairman, the Talz aren't advanced enough as a species to master space travel. Which would mean that they've always lived here, even longer than Pantora has been around," he explained. Senator Chu Chi added on, saying "Your majesty, if there is lifeforms here, then it the Senate who must decide jurisdiction." But Chairman Cho wasn't taking no for an answer. "Then those creatures belong to us, just as this whole system belongs to us. Besides, they're savages. Look at what they did to this place; they massacred our troops! Captain Rex, prepare your troops for battle!" he ordered.

Anakin waved his hand, belaying the order. "The Talz only want to be left alone. Even if we're on different sides, they don't want to fight, and we promised that we wouldn't retaliate," he said.

The chairman was about to go on another tirade when he paused, processing what Anakin said. "Different sides? What do you mean?" he asked. Obi-Wan sighed, hoping that this wouldn't come up until later. "We spoke with the tribe's leader, who had a translator droid with them. The droid was a gift from the ones they've pledged their allegiance to: the Savior's army." For a moment, there was silence, and both Cho and Riyo stared at them in shock. Until, however, that shock gave way to rage. "WHAT?! You mean to say that these beasts not only attacked our troops, wrecked our outpost and are living on our planet, but work for the Saviors army as well?!" he shouted, before looking at Rex. "Captain, prepare your troops to purge them this instant! We are going to find those animals and wipe them from the face of this wasteland!" he commanded. "No!" Senator Chu Chi shouted, causing Cho to look at her. "Chairman if the Jedi are able to communicate with them, and they don't wish to fight, this can be solved diplomatically. There's no need to force the issue," she said. "Be silent, Chairman. It's clear the Convention of Civilized Systems doesn't cover these creatures. The Jedi Council has no say in this matter, and I will not let an enemy of mine to just sit at its doorstep," Cho said firmly.

Obi-Wan sighed. It was taking all of his considerable patience to stay calm right now. "We managed to arrange a meeting with Thi-Sen, their leader. If we wish to make it at the arranged time, we should leave soon," he said. That was something the Chairman did agree with, and they began to prepare along with half of the clones that had arrived with them.

The moment they reached the fallen droid station, Chairman Cho took charge. "Captain, place your men along that ice ridge. We will attack the Talz as soon as they arrive," he said. "You will do no such thing!" Obi-Wan said firmly.

"I will do and you will do as I command! This planet is under my jurisdiction!" Cho yelled. "On the contrary, Chairman, you have no power here. The Talz have had their scouts following us for some time, and are already here. Apparently, Thi-Sen trusts you just as much as your trust him." Anakin said.

Indeed, the Talz began emerging from beyond the same ice ridge Chi had wanted the troops stationed at, sitting on their mounts. Several unmounted ones had been hiding in the snow, and burst out from underneath without warning. The clones reacted and pointed their blasters, but didn't shoot. And the Talz raised their spears, but didn't charge.

Their point proven, the Jedi walked into the droid outpost, C-3PO, Riyo and a steaming Chairman Cho following behind them. Thi-Sen and several other Talz were waiting inside, and tensed once they approached. Upon seeing the Jedi, however, they calmed down. Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed their heads. "Your highness, we have returned, as promised," Anakin said. C-3PO stepped forward and repeated their words in Talzzi. Thi-Sen responded, and the droid translated. "Chieftain Thi-Sen welcomes you to his home, and hopes that you come in peace. While he cannot speak for the other Talz tribes amongst the galaxy, he does wish to be good neighbors regardless of your allegiance. Still, he requests that you leave his planet." Obi-Wan blinked; other tribes? "Wait. You mean to say that there are other Talz tribes who have joined the Saviors army?" he asked. "Indeed. The Talz are not only on this planet, but on Hoth and Alzoc III they have all joined their new Lord in exchange for being given the status as a free and equal people once it conquers the galaxy. Protecting us against a future of slavery, however, should the Republic be willing to offer the same, there is no reason my tribe cannot change sides," 3PO told them.

Seeing the Chairman's expression flash with anger, Senator Chu Chi quickly said "Perhaps I should represent Pantora in this matter." "Not on your life, Senator. Droid, you will translate my exact words," the chairman responded before stepping in front of the Talz. "Listen to me, you brute. This planet is under the rule of moon of Pantora. As Pantora's exalted ruler, you will not command me to leave this planet or to go anywhere! And even if you could, I would never heed any words from someone allied with an enemy of the Republic!" There was silence, and the 3PO muttered "Oh dear," before relaying that message to Thi-Sen. As predicted, the Talz began snarling and waving his arms around, pointing a clawed finger at the chairman. Once he was done, 3PO said "The great Thi-Sen, 'Son of Suns', asks again that you leave. If you do not, they will declare war."Before the Jedi or the Senator could stop him, Chairman Cho said, "Then war it is." C-3PO hesitated, before saying as such in Talzzi. Thi-Sen stared for a moment, before grunting and walking past them. By the time the Jedi and their escort exited the outpost, the entire tribe was already gone.

Chairman Cho was leading the group of troopers back to the outpost. Deciding that the usual route would leave them too open, they had decided to take another path through the canyon to get back. Unfortunately, the Talz knew the environment like the back of their hands, and three of them were already lying in wait. The chairman's eyes narrowed. "Here they are. Once you're in range, open fire," he said. Rex was about to respond that they were only there for protection, when suddenly over a dozen Talz burst out of the snow, clubs in hand. "Ambush! Defensive formation!" he yelled. The other troopers responded by opening fire on the charging Talz, who either avoided the blaster fire or were shot down. Those that avoided it were able to use their clubs to knock the clones off their bikes as they sped past, denting armor and breaking bones while their speeders kept going and crashed.

Rex's own speeder was knocked over by a leaping Talz, who instantly started smashing the windshield to try and break through. Rex ejected himself from the speeder and drew a pair of dual pistols. With several quick shots, he killed the Talz and its mount, before using the fallen speeder bike as cover. The other clones managed to stop their bikes and form a circle with them. However, more Talz emerged on the cliffs surrounding them, and began throwing spears. One such spear was about to impale Chi when one of his bodyguards yelled "Chairman, get down!" and tackled him. The move saved the Chairman from being hit, though the cost was that the spear stabbed the bodyguard through the spine.

More of them began falling, even as the more advanced weapons of the troops cut down on the Talz's numbers. But more of them kept coming to replace the ones that had fallen, quickly putting the clones at a disadvantage. "We can't fall here. First squad, cover the retreat!" Rex ordered, shooting three more Talz down as he spoke. The chairman had drawn his own blaster pistol and was also fighting. However, upon hearing Rex, he looked over at the clone commander with shock. "Retreat? Are you mad? We can't retreat from these animals!" he yelled. His other bodyguard was also struck down with a spear. And less than a second later, his own world erupted in pain when a spear hit the chairman in the back, the tip of it going deep enough to pierce his stomach. "Savages…" he managed to mutter, before falling over.

"Chairman!" Rex yelled, running towards him. Several Talz managed to break the perimeter their bikes formed, but he shot them down once they were close enough. The other clones covered for him once he picked up the Chairman and slung him over the front of one of the bikes. Then he got on and, without waiting for the others, sped off.

The rest of his comrades were right behind him, with the Talz in pursuit.

Back at the Republic outpost, Senator Chu Chi was trying to establish contact with Pantroa's Speaker of the Assembly. Apparently, due to this being an internal affair of Pantora, the only way the Jedi would be allowed to intervene was if they were petitioned to. And the Speaker was the only one who could grant that petition. Thankfully, fate was kind enough to let the storm begin passing up, and that enabled them to make the connection. "Senator Riyo Chu Chi, the Assembly has concluded that the actions of Chairman Chi Cho are indeed out of order. You are hereby given the authority to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the Talz of Orto Plutonia and the sovereign planet of Pantora," the Speaker declared. "Thank you, sir. I will not let you down," Riyo said firmly. The Speaker nodded, and ended the transmission.

"Then that's it. Pilot, get us moving!" Obi-Wan said, and the gunship they were in took off. Now that the storm was less intense, the other gunships could also fly, and they raced to catch up with Rex and other others before it was too late.

"Here they come!" Rex called, trying to get his bike to go faster. Another group of Talz, this one led by Thi-Sen, was descending the cliffs in front of them to reinforce the ones behind the clones, cutting them off on either side.

They were able to run right past the ambush, but several more troopers were killed in the process. And just as they were about to cross the ice bridge, several Talz suddenly pulled out sets of thermal detonators, threw them past the clones, blowing the bridge apart. 'I'll bet you the Savior's army gave them those detonators,' Rex thought, coming to stop before he could drive right over the edge. Now it was just him and three other soldiers, while dozens more Talz were right behind them. By this point, the chairman had managed to regain consciousness, though he was still too injured to fight.

Thi-Sen roared in victory and lead the charge, his club held high as they came closer to the clones. Even as several of their number was shot down, they did not pause of falter.

Just as the situation looked hopeless, the sound of gunships began filling the air. From above, the Jedi and their reinforcements descended, ready to provide assistance. Seeing the massive size of the ships and their turrets, Thi-Sen slowed his troops to a halt, though they were ready to attack again if needed. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Riyo exited one of the ships, and were treated a first-hand look at how much their numbers had been cut down. "Rex, are you okay? Give me a sit rep," Anakin said. "I'm fine, sir. But we've got eleven of us dead, and the rest wounded, including the chairman," he said, as said alien slumped against one of the bikes. Senator Chu Chi quickly knelt in front of him. Not bothering to ask if he was okay, she asked "Chairman, are you still with us?" Cho looked up at her, breathing harshly as he could feel his life leave him. "Senator, good. You… must avenge me. As my final command… as Chairman of Pantora… I order you to destroy the Talz," he said. The Senator closed her eyes. "I'm sorry; Chairman, but I cannot do that. Your actions have been called out of order. I am to negotiate peace," she told him. The Chairman looked at her in horror. "No…! Impossible! Peace? There is no peace. And I died… for our people," he said, before falling forward as he breathed his last.

There was a moment of silence as those present stared at the body. There had never been any doubt that Chi Cho cared about his people, and had probably been a wise leader. But he was also arrogant, and arrogance diminishes wisdom.

The moment passed, and Riyo knew she still had a job to do. She gently relieved the Chairman of his helmet, and then grabbed one of the spears the Talz had thrown. Looking back at C-3PO, she said "Protocol droid, come with me."

He obeyed, and the two walked halfway between their side and the Talz's. Thi-Sen urged his mount forward and did the same. Now that they were face-to-face, the primal alien could see a firmness in Riyo's gaze where there hadn't been before. But with that firmness, he didn't see any hostility. He got off his mount and came closer. Riyo raised her spear and he tensed, only for her to stab that spear into the ground and place Chi's helmet on it. "Chieftain Thi-Sen. Our Chairman was a good man, and to die for one's people is a great sacrifice. However, to live for one's people is even greater. I choose to live. What do you choose?" she said, which 3PO translated. Thi-Sen stared, snarling under his breath. He raised his own spear, and Riyo's eyes widened. Then, slowly, he stabbed it into the ground as well. 3PO almost cheered in relief, saying "He chooses to live as well!" Riyo nodded. "From this day forth, we will leave Orto Plutonia under the watchful eyes of the Talz, and recognize your sovereignty as a free and equal people," she announced. Thi-Sen nodded and bowed his head, an action both she and 3PO copied. Standing, he said "Thi-Sen says that he is thankful and that, as a show of good faith, but that his tribe will not dissolve any loyalties to the Eternal Alliance." His piece said, the Talz walked back to his mount and climbed on, slowly leading the rest of his forces back home.

Riyo sadly returned to her side as well, where she and the others began to get onto the gunships. "Impressive work, but it still saddens me that they are still with the savior's army, Senator," Anakin congratulated her. "Indeed. But now that your people and the Talz are at a mutual peace, remember one crucial thing," Obi-Wan said. When Riyo looked at him, he said "Make it last. For however long you can, make this peace last, and be an example to others so that not only this war, but all other wars can come to an end as well." She nodded. "I will. I promise you," she said. And with that, they boarded the ship and left. What Obi-Wan didn't say was one thing that had kept appearing in his mind ever since the fighting started. Thi-Sen had said that it wasn't just the Talz here on Orto Plutonia that had declared their loyalty to their Saviors army, but the ones on Alzoc III and Hoth as well. And even if this tribe was still not willing to remove that loyalty, what about the others? Worst still was another question. What other planets had the saviors army managed to recruit and control as well?

One month later, inside the Skywalker temple upon Tython…

'Ah the time of war has come, just hope we can stay hidden, he hated fighting his own brother killing his padawans friends, he never wanted to hurt them, but he knew what the future held and he would follow the forces will, no matter what, he knew worse was to come, his brothers fall and the death of hundreds of billions' Christen thought, before having his attention diverted by one of his soldiers approaching.

"High Justice, we've received word from our agent in the Senate. The Chairman of Pantora has fallen, and the planet has reached peace with the Talz of Orto Plutonia," his solider told him. Christen thought that over, and laughed. "Chi Cho would have made a good puppet, and the Talz are fierce allies to have. We are lucky they have stayed with us, what about the other tribes?" he asked. "Their hate remains unchanged. However, we have seen that the Jedi are attempting to bring a mutual peace between the planets of Trandosha and Kashyyk, both of which we have allies because we freed slaves and killed the traders. Not only that, but the Separatists are pushing for further control over Ryloth and more slavery has been happening upon the planet. If the Republic or we don't stop them, they'll completely enslave the planet and its Twi'lek population." he told him.

Christen nodded. Much like the Talz, both the Trandoshans and the Wookies were fierce warriors, and if they ever managed to work together—such as the ones in their own forces had—then they were a force to be reckoned with. A force that he did not want siding with the Republic. "Very well. Send a message to the Bowdarr and Fess clans on both planets to rally opposition to the peace talks. The longer the two planets remain in conflict, the less benefit either of them will be to the Republic," he ordered. He hated to do this but it was needed. The soldier bowed down to him once more. "It will be done my lord, and what of Ryloth?" It was then than Christen smiled. It was a smile, however, any member of their military knew well. It was a smile that meant he was plotting something. "Put me in touch with the punishment fleets captains and marshal to gather up our forces. It's time we brought that planet peace and control ."


	10. Ryloth freedom

Ahsoka Tano had to resist the urge to shiver. The time had come for the Republic to try and liberate her home planet Ryloth from its occupation by the Separatists. It was led by the leader of the infamous Techno Union, Wat Tambor. In order to liberate the planet, Masters Obi-Wan and Windu were going to lead a ground assault. They couldn't start that assault unless they could land on the planet, which meant that the blockade around it had to be broken first. That was her and Anakin's assignment. That alone wasn't enough to make her nervous. This wouldn't be the first time she and her master had flown into danger, but this time around, she was being put in charge of her own squadron for the first time. She sat back in the seat of her fighter, trying to take deep breaths. In front of her, her R7 astromech droid for the mission buzzed in concern, and she smiled. "This is my first time doing this, buddy. Let's make a good impression," she said. When the droid made a series of blips in reply, she frowned. "No, of course I'm not nervous!" she protested, though whether or not the droid believed her was unknown.

Before she could try to convince R7—as well as herself—her attention was drawn away by the approach of Anakin. Smiling at her, he said "Hey, Snips. This is it, your first command. Don't be nervous." This time, Ahsoka's frown was genuine. "I really wish people would stop saying that," she remarked. Anakin frowned in response. "Remember, the men you're commanding are depending on you with their lives," he said seriously. "Well, that takes the pressure off. If I wasn't nervous before, I am now," she snapped back at him. But that only caused him to chuckle. "I have faith in you, Ahsoka. I wouldn't be letting you go out there if I didn't," he said, before walking back to his own fighter. "May the Force be with you," he told her, and she nodded. With a few presses of some buttons, the hatch to her fighter shut, and her ship rose into the air. Behind her, her squadron also readied their ships, and together they flew out into space.

"How much longer until we reach Ryloth?" Lana asked. "Not far, My Lord. We're about 14 parsecs away from the planet's system. Assuming everything is in working order, we'll be there shortly," a technician told her. Lana nodded and looked forward, ignoring the GEMINI droid hovering over her head as it piloted the ship. Through the viewport, she could see a dozen other Eternal Fleet battlecruisers flying alongside her, with more out of view. She had planned on bringing even more, seeing as this would be the Eternal Alliance's first non-guerilla assault since their arrival. Heck, if she had her way, she'd have even brought the last of the Zillo beasts with her just to make sure. But the rest of the Fleet was defending Odessan and Zakuul, wandering the galaxy and attacking any Republic or Separatist ship they encountered, or were stationed at Iokath for maintenance. She'd have to make do with what she had.

No matter. If everything went according to plan, this planet would be hers and the Empress's very soon. She was looking forward to it.

Ahsoka and her squadron were just approaching the blockade over Ryloth when the two frigates on either side of the station opened their hangars, allowing a swarm of Vulture droids to come out. As she looked at the incoming droids she heard a voice, just a whisper "don't stop." "Here we go, boys. It's time for some action. Axe, keep the squadron back and wait for my signal," she ordered throwing the voice into the back of her mind. Axe nodded and the fighters fell into a line behind Ahsoka. They flew forward and flew right into the thicket of the droid swarm. "Let's clear a path!" she called, and they opened fire.

The droids responded into turn, and the squadron scattered as they each picked their targets. Explosions lit up through empty space as droid after droid was blasted to pieces, as well as when any flak detonated before hitting a target. Ahsoka swerved to avoid of spray of laser fire and shot back, hitting the droid responsible with a trio of shots and destroying it. One thing she could say that she liked about the Separatist droids was that they focused on quantity instead of quality. So, when they went up against skilled pilots like her and the clone troopers, it was easy pickings.

It was all too soon that they cleared a path to the battle station. They flew forward with no further droids in the way, and Ahsoka smirked. Not as much a problem as she thought. However, it was at that moment that their sensors went off, and four more Separatist battle cruisers suddenly dropped out of hyperspace right in front of them, flanking the battle station. Each one began opening fire and releasing their own droids, forcing the Republic to go on the defensive.

"Enemy reinforcements! Commander Tano, we've been caught in a trap! Retreat!" Admiral Yularan told her over her commlink.

Ahsoka shook her head. "You're overreacting, Admiral. I can get us through. Blue Squadron, stay the course," she ordered. Her troops did as ordered, but it was hard to do so when they were struggling to avoid over four times as much enemy fire. On the bridge of the Republic cruisers, Yularan's eyes narrowed. "Commander, I'm ordering you to return to the ship! We're going to need your help," he said firmly. Anakin also spoke, "Ahsoka, it's too risky. Get your pilots out of there!"

Rather than obey, Ahsoka kept going, Blue Squadron right behind her. There were now too many droids, and they began to surround them. Two of them targeted Axe, one of the troopers. "I can't shake them!" he said, moving side-to-side to avoid being shot.

Another one of them said "I wish I could help, Axe, but I've got my own problem," referring to a trio of droids that were tailing him. He tried to dodge them, but soon enough one of the droids got lucky, and shot him right where the fuel tank was. It ignited in a dazzling burst of fire and shrapnel, killing him and sending debris in all directions. "We're too outnumbered! They're breaking our lines!" Yularan called watching as more of their own fighters were being overwhelmed by the Vulture droids.

Anakin slammed his fist down on the command console. "Ahsoka, we are in trouble! I order you to return to the ship!"

Ahsoka gritted her teeth and wanted to protest, but another explosion from one of her squadron's ships forced her hand. "Alright, alright! Blue Squadron, pull back to the ship," she said sullenly. She and the other troopers reversed direction and began flying back to the cruiser. The Vulture droids, seeing that they weren't doing enough damage with their blasters, began crashing themselves into the cruisers. One of them saw that the shields around the Resolute command deck hadn't been raised yet, and shot towards there.

Anakin and Yularan saw it coming, and ordered "Run for it!" They went ten steps before the droid crashed into the deck right below the viewport, knocking them off their feet and nearly shattering the viewing glass. Yularan landed right on his head, and cried out in pain. "Get us out of here!" he yelled. Anakin looked around at the recovering workers and said, "Get those fighters on board and prepare for lightspeed!" With what was left of Blue Squadron aboard, the Republic flight jumped to hyperspace in full retreat.

Ahsoka sat silently on top of her fighter. Two clones. Just two out of all of Blue Squadron had been able to make it back with her. Her connection to the Force made her feel each and every one of their deaths, and it felt like a hole had opened up in her chest from sensing their lives being snuffed out. She just didn't know what got into her, why did she think she would be able to defeat the enemy, what troubled her more was the voice that called to her to keep going but why, and who was talking to her. No one had spoken to her since she had made it back; it seemed they were avoiding her entirely. Admiral Yularan was being examined by their medical staff, despite insisting that he only had a bruise. And Anakin… she could see as he had simply been trying to get a head count to figure out the total number of casualties. After giving the order to each squad leader to get him that count, he came towards her.

"Ahsoka, I'm very disappointed in you," he said, causing her to look up at him. "You not only disobeyed the Admiral, but you disobeyed me as well," he said sternly. "I thought I could get rid of that battle station so that Master Obi-Wan would be able to get through when he arrives," she said. Anakin sighed softly as he crossed his arms. "I know Ahsoka... that you had good intentions, but understand Snips, that's not my point. The first rule of war is that you listen and obey your superiors." Ahsoka's eyes flashed angrily, and quickly stood up. "But you sometimes get carried away. You disobey orders all the time too!" she argued.

It was true, most if not all of Anakin's victories in combat or even on the sidelines, were because his best trait was his ability to think outside the box. And his way of thinking outside the box often meant disobeying the orders he was given. He sighed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "All I'm saying is that I know what you're going through," he told her more gently. "But I failed. I lost so many people today, people who were depending on me," she said in anguish. She didn't want to bring up the voice she had heard. Looking her in the eye, Anakin said "Take heart, little one. That's the burden of being a leader, and Jedi are leaders."

There was silence for moment, before it was interrupted by captain Rex, who said "General, we're approaching the staging area. Master Windu is requesting a report on our progress." Looking back at him, Anakin replied sternly "Well, we haven't made any progress yet, but it is best that I tell him myself. In the meantime, I want a full damage report. See how much needs to be repaired, and how long it's going to take, until we can continue are mission." "Right away, general," Rex replied, saluting before walking off. Anakin watched him go, before turning back around. "Now, Snips, I need…" he said, before trailing off. As he noticed that Ahsoka was gone.

Aboard the Separatist station, Captain Mar Tuuk couldn't contain his joy at having beaten and destroyed the Republic's forces. So much, in fact, that he had not waited as they jumped to hyperspace to contact Wat Tambor. The leader of the Techo Union narrowed his eyes at being contacted so soon. He was expecting to have waited longer. "Captain, what is the current status of the enemy attack?" he asked. Tuuk puffed out his chest out proudly. "Oh yes, it seems the Jedi and their forces were crushed, of course. They all have turned and fled the system, their ships in flames. I assure you, Tambor, the blockade is still very much intact. Tambor was pleasantly surprised, but also suspicious. "Very good, then I congratulate you on your victory, Captain. Still, do not underestimate the republic. They still may have something up their sleeve," he warned, before cutting off the transmission. This left the captain angry because he hated being told what to do.

At the same time, aboard his own flagship, The Punishment , Christen was talking to one of his agents, that had been secretly watching the blockade. "So, the Republic's initial assault failed, is Skywalker in charge, X1?" he asked sternly. He loved that these weak clones were so easily manipulated: once he had turned one of them, it was far too easy for them to blend right in. "Affirmative, My Lord. But Skywalker still hasn't given up on Ryloth. They'll be coming up with a plan before trying again," he said. He nodded. "I expected that. Very well then, return to your commander, and be sure to delete all records of this call," he commanded. The clone saluted him and ended the transmission, while Christen mulled over his options. Christen grinned. This was it. That was their opening. And it was time to have a talk with his brother.

By the time that Ahsoka was found and escorted to Anakin, he was already busy working on repairs for his own Starfighters. "You wanted to see me, Master?" she asked, sounding depressed and less cheerful than normal. He knew that this was to be expected. Still, Anakin didn't comment on it, and just said "awesome, you're here. Hand me the socket plug, would you?" The Togruta Padawan looked around for said socket plug, and found that R2-D2 was the one holding it. She handed it to him, and he said "Thank you, Snips. How are you feeling?" So he was going to ask after all. She shrugged, but couldn't keep the sarcasm from her tone when she said "Oh, I'm fine, Master. Just fine." "That's good to hear. You'll need to have a level head if we're going to pull this off," he said, lying back and continuing his repairs. Although his position kept him from seeing it, he knew that his Padawan was confused by what he was talking about. So, he continued "I spoke with Master Windu. We've been ordered to proceed with our attack on the blockade." Ahsoka stared at him. "Wait. We- But- But we can't! There's no way that we-" she stuttered, but Anakin cut her off. "It isn't a question of can or can't. We have to break that blockade, Ahsoka. The Twi'leks on Ryloth are depending on us to set them free," he said. She shook her head. "I understand that, Master, but we've lost over half our men! Did we get more support? Are there more troops coming?" she asked.

Anakin finished with the repairs, and stood up. "No, we have to make do with the forces we have left…and I need to come up with a plan," he said, muttering that last part. But Ahsoka heard it, and her expression turned even more incredulous. "You don't even have a plan?!" she nearly shouted. "Don't worry, Sni-" he started, before she talked over him. "No! That's what you said the first time, and now everyone's gone! My whole squadron! We can't just smash through that blockade!" Anakin glared at her and was about to say something, when they were both stopped by a beeping from his wrist communicator. Taking a moment to give her a look, one that clearly said that this conversation wasn't over, he activated it. "This is General Skywalker speaking," he said. It was Rex, who said "General, we're being contacted on by an unknown ship on an encrypted channel. We're trying to decode it, but the only part we've uncovered is that they want to speak to you and Commander Tano."

Anakin blinked in surprise, as did his Padawan. "We'll be there right away, then," he said, and beckoned for Ahsoka to follow him.

Once they were aboard the command deck, Anakin asked "Have you been able to determine where the signal's coming from?"

Rex shook his head. "I wish we could, General. But whoever this is, they seriously know what they're doing," he said, before opening the commlink. The moment he did, the image of some sort of droid appeared. It was a very large masculine, armored in appearance, and had glowing red eyes, a flashy stealth black body and a strange sort of mask or helmet. The droid also appeared to be hovering in midair, and spoke without looking at them.

"Republic battle cruiser Resolute, this is droid Ventrova Punishment Captain Unit 6419. My Lord wishes for an audience with Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan. Are they present?" the droid asked in a mechanical and monotone voice.

Ahsoka gasped, causing Anakin to look at her. "What is it? Have you seen this droid before?" he asked. Slowly, she shook her head. "No, but I recognize the name 'Ventrova'. These are the droids that pilot the Saviors army," she said. That caused shock to spread throughout every person in the room. If this droid was piloting a ship from the Saviors army that could only mean that they were being contacted by the Savior. But why?

Not having heard a response, the droid said again "Republic battle cruiser Resolute, this is Ventrova Captain Unit 6419. My Lord wishes for an audience-" Anakin spoke up, saying "This is Jedi General Skywalker. I'm here, and so is my Padawan. What is the reason for your call?" The droid didn't respond, and its image flashed before vanishing. There was a second of surprise, before the holo-image appeared again, only this time it was one someone familiar. The image revealed the Lord savior wearing a similar armor to the droid but also like the Punisher, but could it be him, could it be his wife's guardian. Both noticed the four lightsabers on the lord's belt.

"I do sincerely apologize for my droid's misconduct. They are mostly built for piloting and killing, not socializing," replied the Punisher. Anakin momentarily floundered, surprised at the realization that this was in deed his wife's guard, Ahsoka took a step back as she remembered what he had done to her friend Bariss and the clones of the green company. She had nightmares for days after her last encounter. Anakin quickly pulled himself together, and said "The apology is accepted. Why are you contacting us, who are you?" Christen chuckled. "Where are my manners? You can call me Lord Savior, Grandmaster of the Jedaii and leader and creator of the savior's army. It's a pleasure to meet you, General Skywalker and it is very nice to see you again Commander Tano," Christen said softly but with enough force to shatter souls. His brothers face was visibly shaking in anger, he had to give it to his brother for keeping his emotion in check.

Ahsoka tensed as he recognized her. They were talking to the same man who almost killed Barriss Offree, cut the legs of another Jedi, but yet still saved her and master Lumineria from death. Why contact us? This was not good. Still, she didn't say that out loud and instead said "The pleasure is ours, Lord Savior. To what do we owe the pleasure of this call?" She replied with sarcasm. "Well, my sources have informed me that you're attempting to free the planet Ryloth and it's the inhabitants from their occupation by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, as my men have told me that your first attempt to do was… less than close to successful," Christen said with humor. Anakin resisted the urge to glare at the man, asking "Who gave you that information?" Christen merely smiled. "Now, that would ruin all the fun of are mystery, wouldn't it? In any case, the fact that you miserably failed in your assault on Ryloth does not bide well for the Twi'leks, or the galaxy, for that matter. That is why I've chosen to contact you, as I am offering to help you in this endeavor for an exchange." "Oh, really an exchange? The last time I checked, you murdered most of our clones. So please forgive me, but the idea that you would want to help us is something I find a little hard to believe," Anakin retorted.

Christen already knew his answer "I admit that this would come as surprise to you, But wouldn't you like to see Ryloth removed from their possession as I know this to be very personal for your padawan. And we have helped you in the past, if you'll recall, with the events surrounding the late Nute Gunray. Why couldn't we do so again?"

Anakin was silent, thinking about it. He looked over at Ahsoka who stood shocked that he knew her home planet was Ryloth. He knew she had been there during Gunray's death. "You've dealt with the savior's army before, Snips? Do you think we can trust them?" he asked. Ahsoka was slow to respond, and when she did, she said, "I think… It wouldn't kill us to accept the offer. The Jedaii, I encountered last time were honest enough, if a bit scary. If they're offering to help, it would go a long way to making sure the blockade's broken before Masters Obi-Wan and Windu get here."

Anakin looked back at Christen, who was waiting patiently for a response. He didn't know why, but there was something about him—the way he spoke, how he carried himself, something—that just set him on edge. But that could have just been paranoia, so he shoved it to the side. "Suppose that we accepted your offer, and our two military's worked together to break the blockade over Ryloth. What do you want in this exchange for your help?" he asked.

"In return? What I want is for you Knight Skywalker to meet me at an old abandoned Jedi temple on Danttoine, and of course being able to provide freedom to a whole planet of oppressed people is in itself its own reward," Christen said to them.

Anakin was surprised by the man's answer but still nodded. Although he still had some doubts about this, he felt that he could trust this man well enough, knowing he had met him before and was guarding his wife. He felt that Christen would keep his word. "I will need to discuss this with the other Jedi involved in the assault, but I will convince them, then we'd be happy to accept your help," he declared. Christen waved his hand. "Discuss it with your fellow Jedi as long as you want. We're going to liberate and free the slaves of Ryloth, with or without your help. Whether or not you want the Republic to have any say in what happens afterwards is up to you, "Christen said bluntly, and ended the transmission."I've got a bad feeling about this," Ahsoka said aloud, a feeling that Anakin and everyone on board shared. Still, if the savior's army was sincere in their desire to help, then this could be the break they were looking for.

Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu stared at Anakin as if he had grown a second head. "Hold on a second, Anakin. I'm fairly certain I didn't hear that right. You're saying that the Saviors army, our deadliest enemy in this war, is offering to help us liberate Ryloth? Is that correct?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin sighed and nodded. "Yes, that's right. Apparently, they want the planet out of Separatist hands just as much as we do. To that end, this Lord Savior is willing to offer a temporary truce until they've been removed from this system" he explained for what felt like the fourth time. Mace held a hand to his chin and hummed. "Something about this just doesn't feel right. Even if they want Ryloth freed, I seriously doubt the Saviors army would be willing to extend a genuine hand of friendship to see it done. And this lord savior… his mannerisms remind me too much of a sith for him to not have a history with them or the jedi," he thought aloud. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you think he is a former sith? But how could that be? Of all the members of the Order who've ever left for any reason, I never came across his name during my studies as an Initiate." "Nor I. I don't think the punisher a former sith, but this lord, there is just something more to him than just the grandmaster of the Jedaii . And that's before you include the fact that he called himself a grandmaster. I can't, in good faith, believe that his lordship or their fleet won't betray us at some point if we accept their aid," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin sighed. "We may not have a choice, actually," he said, causing both Masters to look at him. "And what makes you say that, Skywalker?" Windu asked sharply. "To be perfectly honest, with how little of our forces we have remaining, we may not have the manpower needed to break the blockade in time. So unless I came up with some sort of crazy plan, accepting their help is the best option. Not only that, but lord savior gave the impression that they were going to liberate Ryloth whether we accepted their help or not. If we don't act, we might not have any decision in what happens to the Twi'leks after that." If anything, that seemed to only make Mace more displeased. "He's strong-arming us into accepting his help, even if she's able to keep that fact hidden between the lines. But that raises another question. If the savior's army plans to liberate Ryloth with or without our help, why offer us the chance to join hands at all?"

Ahsoka spoke up, saying "Maybe because they don't want to fight both us and the Separatists, so they're trying to cut down on the number of people they have to fight." Obi-Wan nodded. "I could see them wanting that. Fighting a war on one side can be troublesome enough. Fighting it against two enemies is even harder, and that holds true for us as well. I suggest that we accept the savior's army offer, at least for now. But we should still keep our guard up, just in case they do try something," he advised. "Shake with one hand and hold our lightsabers with the other?" Anakin asked, half-smiling in amusement. When Obi-Wan nodded, he said "I also think that would be the wisest thing to do. I'll let lord savior know that we've agreed to their help." "Then the matter is settled. May the Force be with us all," Windu concluded, and they ended the conversation.

The remaining Republic cruisers, the Defender and the Resolute, dropped out of hyperspace not far from the enemy blockade. Aboard the battle station's bridge, the leader droid said "Captain, the Republic forces have come back." Mar Tuuk grinned. "Ah, yes. I knew Skywalker would come back. Prepare to engage," he said, lying down the holo-archive of Anakin he had been reading. He knew that Skywalker didn't stand a chance of destroying his blockade, and with the General's defeat his reputation would extend beyond the stars. He might even get his own planet. The droid responded with a programmed "Roger, roger," and began to prepare. Slowly, the cruisers came closer to being within firing range, and he could hardly bear the anticipation. But just as the Republic cruisers were close enough to fire upon, alarms suddenly began blaring.

"Sir, our sensors have detected several dozen ships appearing from nowhere! I think they're using cloaking technology!" the commanding droid said. "What?!" Tuuk yelled, and looked forward. Indeed, in a large circle around the Republic cruisers, a total of two dozen battlecruisers—ones he easily recognized as being part of the infamous Savior's army—deactivated their cloaking systems and immediately opened fire, four targeting each frigate.

He simply stared for a moment, uncomprehending. The Republic and saviors army had joined forces? That was an utter nightmare! But then he managed to snap back into focus, and called "Return fire and raise shields around the battle station! Tell the droids in charge of the frigate to assume defensive formation!"

The droid did as ordered and relayed his words to the droid captains aboard the other ships. The frigates fanned out and the battlecruisers broke up with them, moving with a speed that should have been impossible for ships of that size. 'We're being outgunned,' Captain Tuuk thought. As if to make matters worse, the sensors then detected that, from the Resolute, a squadron of bombers was entering the fight.

Commanding those bombers was Ahsoka, who said "Alright, it's time to do this." For a moment, she felt a flash of fear that she would fail again, before she crushed that thought. She wouldn't fail this time. She couldn't. And she didn't. Ahsoka lead the bombers to the closest frigate and unleashed fury from above, causing explosions all along its body and its command deck. Quickly, the ship lost power and stopped firing, making it easy picking for the savior's army to rip to shreds. They continued this pattern with the next frigate, and then the next and the next.

"We've been outflanked, sir! What should we do?" the command droid said, sounding more than a little panicked.

Tuuk tried to frantically think of a way out of this, but then none other than Wat Tambor appeared on the holoprojector. "Captain, I can see the explosions from here on the surface. What is going on?" he demanded. "Erim Tambor, it's the savior's army! They've joined forces with the Republic, and are lending their support!" he said.

Tambor's eyes went huge behind his goggles, before glaring at Tuuk. "You idiot! Then the blockade has been broken! It's only a matter of time before they land here on Ryloth!" he yelled.

Tuuk tried to raise some form of protest, but his attention was diverted to the sight of several of the Savior's army ships assuming some sort of diamond formation, with their front ends glowing gold. With a flash, each unleashed a blinding golden storm of turbolasers firing upon the battle station, laying waste to it in a matter of seconds. Tuuk didn't even have enough time to make it to an escape pod before he was killed.


	11. Cheating Slut

AUTHORS NOTES:

Im sorry if this is confusing to follow, i need all the feedback i can get.

For the questions from the reviews,

yes all the kids are christens.

ENJOY

* * *

Senate Chambers- Padmé's Office

"Did you have a nice visit with your husband?" Dormé asked. "Yes it was wonderful," Padmé replied. "That's great," Dormé replied. "It's so important to have that time together, when the rest of the galaxy disagrees". Padmé nervously nodded. She looked over her shoulder to see if there was anyone in the corridor and then turned back to the comm screen. "Dormé, if I tell you something, do you swear not to tell a soul? Especially Christen?" "Of course," Dormé replied curiously since they never had used his name out loud. "You can trust me, Padmé." Shelooked behind her once more, and then leaned closer to the screen. "I think Abigail is pregnant and I think she is cheating in Christen."

He entered the senate building and headed upstairs. He'd always loved surprising his brothers wife, and harbored some hope that the visit may turn into something a little more interesting. He reached the floor where Padmé's office was, and proceeded down the hall to her door. It was open when he arrived, and Padmé sat with her back to the door. Christen smiled, knowing she was too engrossed in her conversation to hear his approach. He was about to enter the room when the words he heard from Padme stopped him in his tracks.

"How do I tell him, Dormé? He'll be so upset with me. I mean how could she cheat on... that." Christen frowned, and continued listening. "Christen will find out," Dormé was saying. "Just tell him Padme, I know she is your best friend and all but Christen is so - perfect and just built and caring." "I know," Padmé replied. "He trusts me, Dormé. How can I keep this from him, Abigail messed up! It wasn't just one time either , it's the guy she was fucking when Christen was missing for almost nine years, and yet she still fucks with him Dormé. I can't believe I was helping her cover up without knowing." Padme cried as she sobbed "Don't beat yourself up, Padmé," Dormé advised. "It happens. You're only human, after all."

Christen slowly backed away from the door, his heart hammering anger inside of him as he began to make sense of what they were talking about. Abigail's having an affair, he thought angrily; she cheated on me …she's been unfaithful... after all they had been through …the same guy as when he was missing….you're only human…Christen stood frozen in his tracks, not knowing what to do. I was helping her cover it up? Do I pretend I didn't hear? Do I walk away? No I will get my revenge whether this is true or not. Christen already had a little voice in his head ever since his torture on Korribon. The masters were right, she was in love with someone else. And I went through all THAT FOR THIS SHIT!

"Hello Lord punisher ," Padmé's assistant said as she passed by. "Does the Senator know you're here?" "No, no I just got here," Christen managed to say. Malice in his voice . "I don't think she's busy," the woman replied, entering the office. Padmé had ended the transmission by this point and stood up. She smiled when she saw Christen in his armor in the hallway outside her door. "Come in," she said, confused by the way he was staring and just watching her. Christen walked into the room, watching numbly as Padmé took a datapad from her assistant and read it over. He sat down, certain that both women would hear the wild hammering of his heart, and the anger and hatred that rolled off him. After handing the datapad the assistant left in fear and Padmé sat down at her desk, confused putting on her senator face,smiling at him.

"Hi lord punisher," she said. "What a nice surprise." Christen nodded. "Yes, isn't it?"

Padmé frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You're acting a little strangely." "Am I?"

"Yes," she replied. "Everything okay with the secret missions you were on?" "Yes," Christen replied. "Many died by my blade and my hand but they deserved it ." "Kids okay? Have you seen Abigail yet?" she asked. "No I have not seen Abigail and the kids are on Hapes still doing their training with my guards," Christen resplied. Padmé nodded nervously , scared by Christens odd behavior. "Is there …something I can do for you? Are you returning as my bodyguard once again?" she asked. "No, well…yes at least on the guarding part" he replied. "I have to go, Padme I need to deal with some PERSONAL problems" he said, standing up suddenly.

Padmé looked up at him. "Christen, what's wrong?" she asked. Using his real name. Christen looked down at her through the mask, trying to read her thoughts. But she was hiding something from him, he knew it with certainty. And he was sickened to know of what it was. "Nothing," he lied. "I'll see you later." Padmé frowned and watched him retreat from her office, turning confused and concerned by his behavior.

During dinner with Padme and the family that night, Abigail couldn't help but notice, how quiet Christen was. She'd been wondering all afternoon what it was that was bothering him; it seemed that whatever it was, it was bothering him still. "Any work tonight?" Padmé asked her friend cautiously. "Yes," Abigail reported. "A lot of it,"she added, glancing at her husband.

"Looks like you're going to be busy tonight then," Padmé said. "I guess so," Christen added. Standing up as he gave C3PO the plate as he walked to his room. His protocol droid was broken from his kids messing with it. Padmé had also noticed Christen's frowned as Christen closed the bedroom door with a loud slam, his mood was decidedly lighter after leaving them, but only a little bit. Both women looked at each other in shock and confusion.

Christen headed to the master bedroom unknowingly slamming the door. He pulled off his armor and stood in front of the mirror, examining himself. I'm still in great shape, he told himself, flexing his impressive biceps. How could she still want someone else? Then he looks at his glowing scars and his eyes, He wondered with a frown. He stepped closer to the mirror, peering closer at his hairline, searching for grey hairs. But there were none- he was thirty one years old, and in phenomenal shape, well mostly due to him being immortal, but she didn't know that? So why is she still fucking this guy? She is in love with this guy and doesn't need him anymore? He thought as his anger was rapidly deepening. Taking off his clothes and Turning on the water, Christen stepped into the shower, at a loss to understand what was going on with his wife, and unsure how to bring up the issue with her. He wanted to know the truth, but he was afraid to as well. If she's tired of me, how will I deal with that? How will I go on without her in my life?

Abigail had just said good night , but Padme said she needed to talk to her friend as she headed to the master bedroom. She heard the water running in the fresher, and had an idea. Walking over to the door to the fresher, she stopped, hesitating for a moment. She'd never felt hesitation where Christen was concerned, but with his mood today she wasn't certain he would appreciate her overtures. I need to know what's going on in his mind, does he know about Abigail cheating? she decided, putting her hand on the door handle. And if he doesn't like me asking, that's too bad.

Christen heard all of Padmé's thoughts, as he had just stepped out of the shower when the fresher door opened. Padmé entered the room, and saw Christen standing outside the shower, naked and soaking wet and watching her. "Hi," she said. Quickly covering her eyes "Hi," he replied, quickly taking a towel from the rack. To cover his scars as he had a new found fear.

"Can we talk?" she asked, watching him cover himself off. "Sure," he replied, feeling his heart starting to hammer within him. Here it comes, he thought, trying to keep his composure.

"Is there something wrong, Christen ?" she asked. "You seem upset and I don't know why."

"Is there a reason I should be upset?" Christen maliciously asked, draping the towel over the rack again. Padmé frowned. "Christen , enough of this," she said. "It's pretty obvious that you're upset. You have been ever since you visited me at the office." And then it hit her. "You…you overheard my conversation with Dormé, didn't you?" she asked.

Christens eyes told her that he had. "How could you do this to me?" he asked her. "I thought you could tell me anything! I thought I could trust you, Padme why the fuck would you keep this from me! I thought you cared!" He said in a low growl. "I do care about you!" she replied. "Why would you doubt that?" Her voice trembling "How can I not?" he retorted. "I'm leaving for a drink, I don't know how long I will be gone." Padmé frowned. "Wait a minute..what about…" She tried to ask before he left through the window of the bathroom, but he was already gone. Padmé's eyes grew wide. "No!" she cried. "Oh this is not good" she sobbed as she ran back to her friend

After drinking the whole night the day before he felt tonight was different. Christen thought something felt off as he made his way to his apartments landing bay across the republica 500 building where Padme lived. He felt bad about yelling at her earlier, but she lied to him, but needed to go home and apologize to his wife for leaving last night. Christen departs the ship walking to the door, sensing that his wife was not alone, oh god it's true, Christen decided to quietly open the door creeping in slowly. Christen hears two sets of voices; one was his wife's but the other one sounded like... knowing the voice suddenly. Christens eyes flare into rage slamming through the bedroom door breaking it off the hinges as it slammed into the far wall.

Christen couldn't believe what he was seeing. In his bed was his wife and the prince of one of the underling family's of Hapes. The same one he found out she was fucking when he was gone. Christen stood there looking at the faces of his wife, who was looking at him in horror, the man looked at him in fear. Silence filled the room as minutes went by until Chris lifted his head again to meet his wife's eyes. Turning his eyes to his closet he used the force to pull his luggage bags to him, using it to bring his armor and a few of his clothes. Seeing what her husband was doing Abigail begged, " Please baby, I didn't mean to do this, it was an accident I don't love him, baby please I only love you." She tried everything she could think of to make him stop packing his things, but she finally realized he wouldn't stop.

"We can talk ," she said and turning to the prince that was still in the bed she yelled, " GET OUT, GET OUT please just GET OUT!" Christen knew the prince didn't know what to do since his big sized body was blocking the doorway. Sensing this he stopped packing and moved so he could motion for the prince to go. Taking the chance the prince bolted from the room bare naked. Before the prince could flee, but out of sight from Abigail, the man stopped suddenly feeling his body crushing in on itself. He tried to scream but found no voice to yell with.

As watches bones protrude out of his skin, blood pools out onto the floor, the trail getting longer as Christen holds him tighter with the force. Suddenly, the prince feels a powerful force, knock him into the apartment wall next to the door, smashing through the wall as he landed outside on one of the ships platforms. Christen begins lifting him up throws him over the edge of the walkway, falling down to the depths of Courscant. All the while his wife's screams were all he could hear. He cared about nothing at this point, not his brother, mother, Padme, the kids or even himself.

Picking up the luggage, Christen walked out of the room not listening to his wife's screaming pleas for him to stop. He stopped at everyone of the kids rooms to set down a small wooden box in front of each. Christen stood up after setting the last one down turning to his wife, who was just a mess, he almost felt bad for her. Getting his thoughts back together Christen walked towards his ship while BB-22 opens the ram. Christen feels a sharp tug at his back as his wife was crying frantically, " Please Christen don't leave me, we can fix this, we can be like we use..." He cut her off yelling,l " Just shut the fuck up Abigail ! Things will never be the same between us, you made sure of that. I still love you, but this is my kiss goodbye." Christen cuffed her face in his hands, wiping the falling tears from her face, slowly dropping a silent kiss onto her lips. Knowing that this was the end Abigail broke down, grabbing Christen and sobbing into his chest. He embraced her one more time before letting her go, leaving her to watch as he slowly boarded his ship. The sound of his personal droid BB-22 went skirting and rolling by her onto the ship speedily going passed him as well.

Without looking back Christen closed the ramp as the sound of the compressed air sounded, sighing as he walked into the cockpit activating the main computer. Christen was not going off planet, deciding to stay on Coruscant, he drifted his ship down to the lowest point he could. His ship landed on a special landing pad he had put on level 5000. It was the lowest level that still saw the sky but he could hide his ship in an abandoned building. It looked like it had been used as a dumping ground for the dead. There were bodies lying stacked on top of one another. Setting the ship down , and grabbing his 2 bags of luggage, Christen lowered the ramp sending BB-22 to scan the area with the probe droids. Following behind Christen yelled to his friend " Two- Two find a way down to level 1310."

His droid stopped and gave a series of beeps and whistles to answer. It seems this is going to be harder than he -two told him the only way to get a straight passage down to the level Christen wants would be to construct an elevator that would connect both levels. Sighing, Christen went back to his ship to use the com link to call in a engineering team to build the elevator. Two-Two asking how big the dimensions would need to be. Thinking for a minute he responds " Big enough to hold this ship! I want the level we're going to cleaned up and clear the bottoms of levels 1311 for about a mile in each direction. Getting a questioning beep from his droid " Don't worry I know what I'm getting into. I'm just gonna be down here until I have what I need," Christen answers getting another confused sound from the droid. " Yes 22 I'm going to be looking for an apprentice soon, but I need to work out this shit in the underground. I need to kill," he says.

After finishing talking to his droid, Christen takes his comlink and calls the alpha flagship. Christen finally sees the holo of commander Trenx with a surprised look on his face. Not waiting for Trenx to greet him he orders, " Commander I need the Punishment core engineering team to travel to Coruscant. I will send you the coordinates to my location. I expect your team to be here in 7 hours Commander!" Not waiting for a response Christian ended the call. Christen tells Two-Two to mark the area for the team and leave them the information and directions for the elevator. Turning to his ship Christen took the small remote for the ship from his pocket, pressing one of the buttons, the sides of his ship start detaching from the mail hull revealing the hidden underbelly which hides Christians speeder. Using the force to pull the speeder towards him Christen jumps on. BB-22 jumped from the speeders steps to land in the back where the support droid controls are. Checking to see if his droid in still with him as he speeds off into the underground traffic, knowing that to the levels he will be descending to will be filled with criminals.

The only way to make it in the underground was the black market, it took a few hours of taking elevators and shuttles only making it to level 1330. Christen could tell he would be having trouble, as his speeder was worth more than these people's lives. Finally after a few hours of making my way through the stares of thieves and slavers, Christen saw one of the ruling underground Hutts ,named Zilla the Hutt, watching him. Since then he has had two of the Hutts men carefully drifting behind him following him. Finally reaching level 1313 ,Christen stops in front of a bright neon sign of the black market. He turns to his droid, "Wait in the speeder Two-Two, come in when you hear the signal." BB-22 watched as the doors slammed behind his maker.

After a few moments of silence, BB hears the first scream and sounds of igniting lightsabers as more screams ring out. He sees the door buckle as if being locked from the inside. The screams lasted for only a couple minutes before suddenly a loud boom ,snapping of bones, and a thud of the body hitting the floor. A bit of time goes by before BB-22 sees the front door of the shop open revealing a blood soaked armored Christen. His eyes were a black red with no white showing and he was breathing heavily while wiping the blood from his face. "None of the blood is mine" he told his droid. Two-Two responded with what could be best described as " smartass" laughing.

Christen moved out of his he way so the droid could pass him. Upon entering the room, you could see the room was flooded in blood and littered with bodies. The droid looks up at Christen. Returning the stare " You know what to do, let's burn it up." The droid gives a affirmative nod. Christen walks out of the shop closing the door behind him as he could see people have already started gathering outside to watch. Christen feels the heat coming, so he turns to look at the building as fire engulfs it in with such heat that it disintegrates everything except his droid, of course.

He could sense of the Hutts men coming from the crowd toward him. Christen guessed they were on guard duty or just harassing the people. Facing the men he could see they are part of one of the Hutt clans on level 1790. " You killed a Hutt gang, you armored freak ! Now you gotta pay!" Pulling out his blaster with the other scoundrels following the motion, Christen started laughing. He slowly took out his lightsabers and looked at the men. Igniting his blades Christen rushed the two men closest to him. All they could see was a world of orange before being decapitated. The other scoundrels stare in horror as Christen looks up from the bodies to them. Walking towards them as , he sees them trying to flee, so he uses the force to freeze them where they stand. All the bystanders had held their breaths watching as Christan walked to the men slicing through them, as there bodies fall to the floor. He turns his head to see the faces of the people in the crowd that were now surrounding him. As he walked to the shop surprisingly, the crowd parted the way for him. Feeling the force, Christen could tell all these people knew who was in charge down here. They were so full of fear, the same as all the semesters when he first walked into the senate building. Christian took to work as he set up the place new shop.

The next day Christen woke up groaning because he hadn't thought to set up a bed. He got up and headed for the tiny bathroom that Two-Two fixed up, still surprised at the droids speed after getting his breakfast of just Jawa juice. Walking out of his shop Christen could see the road was packed with all the smugglers and criminals. Knowing what he came down here to do, he felt through the force searching the underworld for anything that was strong with the force. After a few moments passed ,Christen felt a tiny pull coming from 6 levels above him. Following the feeling to the source, he uses twists and turns through crowds of aliens and humans alike to reach the level. Christen felt where the source was coming from and follows it. Suddenly he felt a shift in the force so he picks up his pace and walks through what looked like an underground gang. Walking farther down while getting dirty looks from men on the streets, he stops in front of two guards standing in front of a building entrance. He could feel the wind coming from the entrance as one of the thugs rose when he saw him.

"This is a private property, you can't just-" Christen drew his lightsaber and cut off his head in one swift motion. The second man gasped and stepped back ,but Christen already had him in a Force choke, before he could do so much as blink. He crushed his body making blood squirt from every crevice. He moved ahead where even more guards stood in his way. None of them fit the description so he didn't bother with questions and simply crushed their windpipes to smithereens . Christen kicked the door open and made his way into the house. The force lead him to a room where another four men of different races were having some kind of drinking game. They all sprung to their feet when they saw Christen's lava eyes burning through the eyes holes of the mask. The force flowed violently through him.

Two of them drew their blasters and fired instantly. Christen still had his lightsabers drawn and easily blocked the shots. One strike took off a head, he then sliced through another's legs on its way down. A powerful kick sent one of the thugs across the room smashing him into the wall, lots breaking bones from the sound of it. The fourth attacked with a broken glass bottle. The force warned him in advance of the move and Christen almost scoffed as he brought his elbow down on the man's neck instantly shattering the bones. The guy he had kicked let out a groan and tried to scramble to his feet while the one without legs started shouting in pain. Christen took one look at him and stabbed him through the head with his lightsaber. He knew he could've survived if given proper treatment, but he didn't want him to live.

Christen stepped over to the man slumped against a wall. Looking at him more closely he was pretty sure it was the kidnapper. Never breaking eye contact He slowly pulled out a picture of a group of force sensitive children from his pocket and held it up.

"I'm searching for these children", he growled. "Where are they?" The guy suppressed a pained scream, focusing on trying to crawl away from him and to the table where some bottles had shattered during the fight. Christen didn't plan on letting him anywhere near the sharp glass. Slowly and deliberately he stepped onto the man's hand, grinding with his heavy boot until he heard the satisfying crunch of more broken bones. "I – I don't know!", the kidnapper let out and screamed in pain. "Damn it, please just let me go I have a family!"

Christen considered cutting off his hand, or better yet his arm, slice after slice. But the lightsaber pretty much cauterized the wound, making it less painful then it would normally be. Instead, he stood up and made his way over to a mechanism that he assumed was the holo sender. In front of it there was a blue tarpaulin. He lifted it at one end and stared right into the empty eyes of a ten-year-old. He had bloody scratches on his face and hands. Christen assumed that he had fought against his kidnappers after they refused to bring him back when they got the money. Another look around showed him the bag with it in a corner of the room. Christen stepped in front of his victim. "Normally I have droids doing the interrogation for me", he drawled, sounding almost disinterested. "Apparently, it's not becoming of a Lord to dirty his own hands." On his good days – those when insanity had a firm grip on his mind – he had been quite sour about that. "Nonetheless I know how to do it. I may not have the proper equipment but I have one distinctive advantage." He pointed to the unscratched thug that he had merely knocked out. "If you don't spill, I'll simply ask the next in line."

Christen held out his hand, let the force flow through him and directed a current of orange lighting at the man, eliciting a sweet scream. The Savior watched mercilessly as the thug screamed and shook for several seconds before he stopped the attack. "Where are they?", he asked again. "Where are the rest of the children?" "The... The children?", the kidnapper asked breathlessly. "Look – I have no idea! It's nothing personal-" He shot lighting at him again, more powerful this time. "Aaaarrrgh!" The men almost passed out from the pain. He had to make sure to regulate the current more carefully. "Where is he? What do you do to the children?" he snarled. "I don't have them! I don't have them anymore! I'm just a small light, I swear!"

Another shock. "Fuck, stop it, please, just stop! I'll tell you everything!" the men said. "Why did you take the children and where are they now?" "I'm part of a group – we take in children that are running around without their parents. Then all the children are herded together. The girls go to the Red Dune. The boys – sometimes we exchange them for a ransom. Not that bunch though – they were snarky ones. Almost caused our whole power system to fail, including the energy ropes just by messing with the wiring of the lights."

Yes, that did sound a lot like something Force sensitive kids would do. Christen also remembered rumors about the Red Dune – it was a big organized group of criminals that forced young girls into prostitution. "Keep talking." "Dung over there", the man nodded to the headless corpse, "wanted to kill them for that but I said no! I saved them alright, they were really talented and so we took them to our bosses – and that's all I know! We're supposed to deliver the children to them if we find them special." "Where do I find your boss you deliver to?" "They can usually be found just outside the city walls. They wait for the next caravan to take them away – if you hurry you might still catch them!" "Oh, I will", Christen promised darkly. "That's it. I – I told you everything! I swear it!" "I believe you", he answered. "But that won't save you either." He began shooting lightning again with as much power as he could muster. He wanted to see how long it took for him to disintegrate as each species was different.

Listening to the dying man's screams, he tilted his head to the side. Faintly Christen remembered the pain of being hit with such lighting. He'd been under it multiple times. The one that had finally killed him hadn't even been that painful compared to some others. After all, he couldn't die easily anymore. Finally the screams died down and there was nothing but smoldering ash left of the man. Christen made his way out, cutting off the head of the last remaining living thug . Maybe a few more seconds and he would have been free, but the act was almost just an afterthought.

The force lead him on a trail that lead him to a couple of horribly made cages hiding in the shadow of the walls. There were five in number with one guard for each of them. The Punisher cloaked himself in the force, made himself unnoticeable and slipped into the first cage from behind. He counted ten children between the age of five to sixteen, three girls and seven boys. There were different races though most were human. Some were asleep, some sobbed quietly, some were holding onto each other or quietly whispering. Almost everyone had some sort on injury, a bruise here, a bloody cut there and all of them had their hands and feet bound with blue energy ropes. They were bound to each other with it as well.

Christen slipped out and made his way to the next tent, then the next. It was the same in everyone.. "They – They sold him!" They shouted at him momentarily, a clue that gave him a description of the kidnappers and Christen knew at once who was at fault. "Zygirran scum", he growled hatefully. He'd had a feeling all along that these men were slave dealers but this – force sensitives, it was too odd. Christen let go of the boy and slipped out as unnoticed as he'd come. The Little scared Te'lak hesitantly called out for him but he didn't hear any response. Then there was a series of 'thuds' from outside. One minute later he came in again and made short work of the energy rope holding all the children together. "You over there", he said, pointing to a black haired girl, one of the few who didn't look broken yet and one of the oldest children. He could feel the force course through her body, not in a powerful sense but in more of an understanding calming way. She looked at him with her blue eyes bright as his brothers. "Get them all safely back into the the ship. I had my droid bring it down to the platform. You won't miss it . Stay there till I come back. Do you hear me?" Christen ordered. "Yes Sir – but what about the guards?"

"There are no guards", he replied simply, leaving the cage to free the others.

It took him another twenty minutes to free all of the children – over two hundred he estimated, far too many and took far too long in his mind but they couldn't walk all the way to his ship without causing a scene. He managed to contact Ventrova and had her drop transport ships for each cage of slaves he freed.

Within three hours christen had gracefully visited and massacred two separate gangs, killing everyone who stepped into his way but not bothering to cleanse it of its population entirely. It was in the third place he came upon what appeared to be an auction of children. He could sense the fear from the children who were force sensitive . He managed to witness a young girl being sold to some rich Zygerian boss. He took a bit more time dismembering them, since the criminals had guards with them that were moderately skillful. In the end though he stood alone, the sand littered with cauterized body parts. At one point he had Force pushed a dozen or so attackers away from, him breaking countless bones. He knew the underground police were after him, but he also knew everyone feared him enough that nobody would dare tell them about his presence. He smiled at the thought of what he had done to the young Torguta he murdered. He killed him since the fucker got the police after him in the first place.

As he tore his mask off breathing heavily, the girl that had been about to be sold sat in a corner, whimpering and trying in vain to cover her body. She hadn't been allowed to wear anything but some flimsy underwear. Christen stepped towards her, ignoring how she flinched away from him. He did however shut off his lightsabers putting only one of them back on his belt and once again pulled out the picture of children . "I'm searching for force sensitive children ", he said darkly. He doubted he could pull off a nice act to get her out of her panic attack. Might as well use her fear for himself. "I know the children are being sold here. Where are they? Where are your friends?" he demanded. "I-I don't know!", she sobbed. He hated doing this to a girl that was just a slave moment ago. "Try to remember", he insisted. Leisurely directing the hilt of his lightsaber at her so if he pushed the button the blade would pierce right through her. Then he pushed the picture forward, forcing her to take a good look at it. "I –they were the last shipment ", she hurried to say, tears streaming over her cheeks. "He was – was one of the first taken from my group. He was... nice to me." She pointed to the boy in the middle of the photo.

"I know", he said, trying (and failing) to look comforting. "Im not going to kill you."

She calmed down a little at that. "They sold him to some other traders", she whispered. "I heard some of them talk about it. They said... They have always been taking them to the Hutts." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry." Evidently she believed the children to be lost. Nobody messed with the Hutts. Although they were the worst criminals ever Their current clan head on the planet was Jabba the Hutt. Knowing they already hated him for killing at least two of their crime rings with the deaths of the Hutt leaders from the underground, "Well i'm here to help you escape?", Christen softly told her, knowing he already killed most of the fuckers. "Uh, I'm not sure..." The girl looked so afraid, not able to decide what was worse, risking getting caught again by smugglers or trusting the Jedaii that had relieved the whole gangs of them from their heads.

Christen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and went over to the next corpse, tearing off the dead scums armor, then pulling off the underling cloths , that the scoundrel had used to protect himself from the underground cold. Tossing them over to the almost nude girl he said "I have a ship outside. It will be taking you somewhere safe, where you can practice your gifts. He threw her a bottle of water but he finally felt the weight of the notion that he was finally getting students to teach. But soon he was saddened at the thought of what he had heard Padme say about his wife. "Thank you Sir... for saving us but aren't you going to come with me and the rest in your ships?" she said interrupting his thoughts.

Christen usually would have scolded someone speaking up to him, but this little girl spoke with such emotion, he found himself remembering the day Amber was born, remembering everything he had done with his children. As he knew the news had gotten to them, every now and then he felt them trying to feel for him in the force.

He turned his head a little, not enough to face her but enough to acknowledge her words. In that moment she reminded him just a little bit of his brother when he had taken care of Anakin. His fire eyes fell on the remains of the smugglers he had slaughtered. He almost appreciated the irony. Straightening up he turned to the girl, reaching up he took off his helmet, the air stinging his skin, he motioned his arm in a way that told the children he would go with them. The children made the silent night fill with laughter, odd he he began leading the children into his transport ship


	12. The Zillo Beast

CHAPTER TWELVE

Christen saw a sudden flash light up the desolate rocky world around him. He hopelessly watched as a fireball as tall as a Republic Cruiser suddenly appeared and was growing rapidly before it imploded and became a ball of electricity that shrunk to a smaller, concentrated sphere. Suddenly it exploded, rippling quickly, covering the distance between him and the point of origin. Down below, waves of Separatist droids fell to the ground before a field of electricity washed over him. He felt nothing but a tingle.

The air around was as quiet as death just before a huge, circular crack appeared in the ground where the fireball had originated, then another around that circle, and another, and another… The ground was caving in. Droid remains fell deep into the hole widening in the planet's earth, while troopers were also getting sucked into the carnage and falling to their deaths. A huge dust cloud was rising high into the air, covering the true extent of the damage and hiding how deep this destruction truly was to the planet.

The air all around trembled in apparent anticipation, the Force shifting in unease… Then, an ear splitting, solitary, furious screech pierced the air as blaster fire suddenly erupted in the newly developed sinkhole. Christen watched, right under the Jedi's nose, using the force to cloak himself. To be honest he wished he didn't need to at all, all he wants to do is get to the point, but sometimes the fastest way possible, is not the best way of action. He grimaced as bombs were dropped into the sinkhole, followed by fuel. From the green fumes, a huge shadow emerged. Large, glowing eyes suddenly appeared through the fumes, and another roar shook Christen to his very core. From the rumble of the earth, as he levitated tyhon boulders that surrounded his temple, he could hear echoes throughout the force of gasps of surprise from his new students or rather freed slaves.

However, he did not open his eyes; just simply stretched out his senses, as he felt his children. All five had happily taken his side in the fight, his youngest son Damian, not surprisingly, now hated him and his sweet little Julie. Just as he had suspected, his daughter Emma, his second oldest girl, silently entered the room; and she seemed to be wanting to talk about something important. Still, she respected him as grandmaster, as she calmly leaned against the wall, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Christen gave a small sigh, cracking an eye open to look at her. "Good morning padawan Emmagine," he said smoothly, popping his neck and standing up. "Good morning father," she responded automatically by hitting him softly in the arm. "How did your early morning meditation go?" "Interesting…" Christen said with a slight frown. He waited till they both had stopped laughing; it was rare times like these where he was happy. They were silent as he began to speak

"I had a vision, though…I don't know what it was about. There were massive amounts of destruction, and from the destruction came some great creature I recognize."

"That does sound unusual," she mused. "Though I think I might have an answer for you."

"Really?" He asked curiously. Emma nodded, turning to walk out into the living area of the family palace within the Skywalker temple "Remember last week clones x1and x2 informed us of the mission that Master Windu and General Skywalker went on to Malestare to secure the treaty for their fuel?" Christen frowned as he followed his daughter. "Yes, I remember, since the dominant species there is the Dug and we have, ah, past experiences with Dugs."

Emma nodded. "Well, they secured the treaty, but in the process discovered a creature known as a Zillo Beast. It's the last of its kind, and Chancellor Palpatine has ordered the creature be brought to Coruscant for scientific study. I think you should go to meet them down there to see this Zillo Beast for yourself." She ended quickly, Christen perked up knowing it was about Abigail. He sighed as he looked into her eyes. "Of course; it seems like this Zillo Beast is quite a sight." He strode out of the room to set off towards Coruscaunt he wanted to let off some steam before he met this zillo beast.

A few days later…..

Outside the lower levels of Coroscaunt close to the northern industrial part of the city, a cargo ship appeared and headed towards the loading dock. Nearby several thugs from one of the last remaining Hutt gangs were covered in cheap and bulky armor. Christen kept an eye out as the shipment began to land. An expensive Corrilian cruiser flies by. The driver walks around and opens the door as the passenger, Christen's target, Salvatore Wolf appears. Salvatore is the street leader of a gang called Black Sun. The mobs were gaining strength but were still dominated and controlled by the Hutts who is a family criminal ring that controls all of the criminal underworld. His family usually only sells alcohol, drugs, weapons, but Christen found that they have decided to join in the slavery business.

As the war progressed the Hutts, along with other criminal organizations have been taking advantage of the chaos the war has brought. Some have even begun assisting Count Dooku and his master to remain in control. They ask them to deal with anyone who they feel is in their way, hunt down anyone that is a threat, and make sure nothing happens until the war is over. In exchange for doing this they were given immunity from the Republic as long as they do not interfere with any affairs from either side and they do not get caught in a crime that will put them away for life. An agreement they excepted so they can gain newfound freedom and spread their business across the galaxy.

With the Jedi and Republic focused on the war, the Hutts along with the Wolf family have been able to use this chance to make more money in the slave industry. Wolf came to the docks to see the shipment that he planned to sell to the Zygerrian Empire for money.

"Welcome Mr. Wolf sir," greeted one of the thugs. "We have the new shipment as promised." "Good," replied Wolf as they walk towards the crate. Inside there is at least a hundred female Twi'lek and Togruta women. All appeared to be around 10 years old. Christen, standing in the shadows, has to grind his teeth to stop himself from killing everyone.

"Perfect, my new clients will love this new shipment. Get them to the warehouse and make sure their ready for the auction." "Yes sir," replied the thug as he motions for the men to get the crate ready to move. As Wolf heads back into his vehicle one of the men hears something nearby. Walking over to investigate he sees what appears to be an armored figure standing nearby. "Hey, what are you doing here?" the thug asked. As the thug approaches the figure he is suddenly grabbed and pulled into the darkness letting out a scream. One of the thugs hears this and notices his friend is gone. As he calls out for his friend, the lights are suddenly broken by the force causing them to go out. Leaving the gang in darkness. One of the men kneels down in panic and fear from the darkness and the other guard follows suit.

He looks up to see a dark figure hanging upside down from one of the cranes.

2\. Christen drops down and attacks both men taking them both screams attract the attention of the other men as they begin regrouping with armed weapons. Wolf remains in his vehicle waiting to find out what is going on, while the women in the containers huddle together hoping someone has come to their rescue. A lone man, who didn't regroup, notices something fly past him causing him to open fire. He sees one of his friends running nearby who is swiftly decapitated by the lightsaber wielding dark figure. The thug panics when he sees what happens. He continues firing blaster bolts until the gun over heats and he begins backing away afraid. "Where are you?!" "Here," the dark figure whispered standing behind the thug as he grabs his head and rips it straight from the mans shoulders, flinging the body over the edge. The other thugs look on in horror as they start creating a circle looking for whoever is attacking them.

3\. Christen appears right in the middle lighting up the dark surroundings with the glow of his light sabers. The lava hue of his weapon is the same as his angry eyes . In seconds he begins hacking the men into pieces. Despite having him outnumbered, they were unable to take him down. All they saw was the light of his eyes and the sound of his lightsabers before they died.

Wolf leaves the safety of his vehicle where he sees the hulking man taking down his men like they were nothing. He takes off running back to the safety of his vehicle as he pulls out his blaster. "Drive, now!" he ordered his driver. He finds his drivers face is torn from his body and his heart has been forcibly torn from his chest, as he starts to grow frightened by what is happening. "What the hell are you?" Suddenly something lands on the hood of his vehicle, breaks through the glass of the sunroof, and pulls him through it revealing a man dressed like a creature of the night. "I'm lord Savior," the dark figure replied as he delivers a head-butt knocking him out.

Looking back as his men are freeing the slaves, he boards his shuttle with a smile, knowing that this was the start of something so much bigger. He saw three of his military shuttles picking up the children. Now he needed to take care of what he came here for. He needed to save that damn beast. No matter what the cost. Even if he had to be around the Jedi.

Hours later...

The Zillo Beast was definitely a sight to behold. It had been fifteen since Christen had snuck on a republican shuttle with his brother and some other jedi. It was hard to hold in his laughter, knowing the Jedi's were fools for not realizing he was there. He had to use the force to physically cloak himself so he would stay undetedcted. He still did not want to talk or deal with his cheating wife and Padme who were standing close to his brother along with the outher Jedi and the supreme chancellor. He stared at the ginormous, scaly, green/gray three armed creature as the shuttle slowly descended towards the facility that the Zillo Beast was going to be kept in. Christen bitterly eyed the domed structure skeptically, not sure if the Zillo Beast would really be comfortable in the building. Considering the size, it was probably going to be cramped in the facility. Even now it looked pitiful restrained and weak as the troopers wheeled him towards the facility at gunpoint and loaded cannon. He could feel the feelings of this creature.

The poor thing, he couldn't help but think as the shuttle finally touched down. Odd that he cared for for animals life more then human life.

Stepping off behind the jedi knight Aayla, he could see Palpatine and Mas Amedda standing in front of the Zillo, Anakin and Windu arriving on the other side of the Chancellor with R2 trailing behind. Christen couldn't stop glancing at the giant creature. "So this is the whispered Zillo Beast?" Aayla asked without any formalities. Christen didn't even look at the reactions, just stared at the creature. The force was strong with the creature. "Yup; just be glad it's not awake," Anakin muttered, arms crossed over his chest. "Such size…such power…" Christen heard the Chancellor say in a low tone. The tone of the voice caused a shiver to go down his spine and he glanced at the Chancellor uncomfortably, subconsciously taking a small step away from the jedi and others and moving closer to the Zillo Beast.

"With respect Chancellor," Windu said. "I believe this creature could pose any number of dangers. Bringing it here to Coruscant is a mistake." "Oh, I assure you I did not make this decision lightly Master Jedi. The sooner we unlock the Zillo Beasts secrets, the sooner we can end this terrible war!" "I hope you're right Chancellor," Windu said begrudgingly as the Zillo Beast came closer. Windu stepped up to the woman that was walking beside the Zillo while Christen stepped closer to the Zillo Beast. "I'm turning the Zillo Beast over to you Doctor; I trust it will be given good care." "The Beast is a priceless resource Master Windu; it will be well treated, I assure you," the Doctor replied. Windu nodded then moved to leave with Anakin. Christen , however, drifted over to the beasts other side.

"I might just stay a little longer, linger and see what the creatures like, see what I can learn," Christien murmured softly to himself so that only he could hear. "I have the feeling there's more to this than I know…" Being reckless as he was, he even dared to jump up on the platform that was holding it, putting a gentle hand on one of its large scales. It was warm to the touch, and slightly moved under his contact. Christen stretched out his senses slightly to the Zillo Beast's still mostly unconscious mind, probing how it felt. It was definitely in a lot of distress, but passive and accepting at the moment. Fully willing to cooperate. I need to bring this to Tython he thought.

He walked the length of the Zillo, coming to a stop at its massive head. He ran a gentle hand over the length of the scale over the creature's eye, taking it in with a sympathetic eye.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure that you get what you deserve. I'll do everything I can; you'll get fair treatment, and hopefully soon we both will get off this crowded planet too." Perhaps it was just his imagination, but for a second he thought he saw the Zillo's head incline towards him slightly, as if it had heard and understood his words. Once the platform came to a sudden stop, Christen was forced to move away. He casually left the Zillo's side as he strolled over to the wall. Once he reached the shadows near the wall, he climbed up high into the rafters of the domed building, balancing carefully on a beam above the large contraption they put the beast in before it could regain consciousness. He crouched down on his knee up above, leaning down slightly to get a better view as they propped the Zillo's ginormous chin up on one of the high metal beams, securing it's neck and head before moving on to its appendages. Christen frowned. It didn't look like the Zillo was being made comfortable.

Droids and troopers were suddenly moving everywhere once the Zillo was secured, and Christen watched as the Doctor and the Chancellor got on separate pods that would allow them to come level with the Zillo Beast, which was starting to wake up and make cries of distress. Christen growled, feeling his disapproval heighten immensely as droids roughly lifted the scales on its neck and took a blood sample, causing the Zillo to cry out in pain. Its glowing green eyes drooped tiredly though, and it did not move to escape. Christen gazed at it sympathetically. This Zillo did not belong here; it belonged out in the open, and left alone, and Tython was the perfect place, since he made the whole system a shelter for force sensitives.

Suddenly he realized that the Chancellor was speaking to the Doctor. Laying on his stomach on his beam, Christen strained to hear what was being said. The Chancellor's words floated towards him, and found himself very unhappy with the conversation that followed.

"We need to remove the scales first; it's very difficult, and painful," the Doctor was saying.

"Would it not be more efficient to simply kill the beast?" Palpatine asked bluntly.

"Kill it? Are you sure?" Mas Amedda asked Palpatine. "Chancellor! I must protest!" the Doctor said worriedly, rushing to the side of her pod to lean in closer to Palpatine in her insistence. "Besides being the last of its kind, this creature may be intelligent!"

At the doctor's words, Christen reached out with his senses and probed the Zillo's mind. It hadn't made a sound throughout the entire conversation, and Christen could sense rapt attention emanating from the creature. "I find that hard to believe; it is, after all, just an animal," Palpatine said carelessly. The Zillo's glowing eyes—eyes that Christen realized with a start were from his dream—narrowed at the Chancellor and it growled threateningly at him.

Just an animal my fucking— Christen started to think, but was cut short as the Doctor spoke.

"It didn't seem to like your comment," he said pointedly. "I applaud your high moral stance Doctor; after all, principle is in short supply these days. However, every passing minute of warfare brings countless deaths, deaths that could be prevented once the beast's secrets are unlocked. If there is any way to hasten that process, it is our moral duty to explore it." "I serve at your pleasure, Chancellor," the Doctor said moodily. It seemed he did not agree with Palpatine; good. "I'm just not sure where to begin; the fact remains that the beast is indestructible!"

"Nothing is truly indestructible Doctor; wasn't there something in Malestare fuel that affected the beast?" "It weakened the Zillo, yes, but—" "Excellent. I suggest you start there. Doctor, you need to find a way to kill that beast; or we shall replace you with someone who can."

Christen felt fury rush through him at Palpatine's words, his eyes began glowing uncontrollably for only a few seconds before he calmed down, he felt a similar feeling coming from the Zillo Beast just below him as Palpatine's pod slowly traveled to the floor. For a few moments, Christen struggled with his anger up on the beam, doing his best to get a hold of his emotions before he did something very stupid. The roar of fury and pain that the Zillo released as the experiments continued and Palpatine left didn't help his anger at the moment though. Still, he managed some amount of control as he stood from his hiding spot, staring down at the beast. I wonder… he thought to himself before letting out a sharp, high pitched whistle he'd use to call to force sensitive creatures that only heard high frequencies. The Zillo stirred before arching its head up as much as it could to see the source of the noise, its glowing eyes locking with Christen 's own.

As he stared into its eyes, he could see a beaten and broken soul in the Zillo and decided then and there that the creature was purely sentient; it only lacked a voice. He wasn't going to let it die; there were other ways that Palpatine was refusing to look at. He knew there was. Glancing around, Christen suddenly dropped from his spot on the ceiling beam before landing lightly on the Zillo's head, right on the scale plating between its eyes. He put a gentle hand just above its eye, staring intently into the glowing greenish yellow orb. His eyes glowed at brightly at the beasts. "I know you can understand me," he said softly. "I promise you I won't let this republic kill you. I'll do what I can to the best of my abilities. If I can I'll even get you out of here," Christen assured him, putting his entire heart and soul into his words. The Zillo's hard gaze softened slightly; he could see it in its eye even as it rumbled deep in its chest. Christen rubbed its scale lightly before he kicked off, running the length of the beam that held the Zillo's head before anyone could spot her and sliding down the long shadowy pillar. As he slipped out of the domed building, he already had his destination in mind. Now just to get his capital ship.

Hours later upon sneaking into the chancellors office, Christen came around the building sneaking into the room at the right time. A beep sounded at the Chancellor's desk, and Palpatine activated his communication's device implanted into the desk. The doctor in charge of the Zillo Beast appeared. "Doctor, were you successful?" Palpatine asked. Anakin started a little; had Palpatine ordered the Zillo Beast killed while they were busy arguing in hushed tones about the lack of the savior's army's behavior? "We have a problem sir…" the doctor said grimly. Anakin felt a shiver of warning ripple through the Force and along with Christen, who had just came in, turned their head towards the window, staring out over the city of Coruscant with identical frowns. What in the name of the Force was happening? Christen suddenly felt the bussing of his private com to his personal droids. "The Zillo has escaped."

Alarms suddenly started going off, blaring all throughout the planet in a shrill and intimidating tone. Christen tensed slightly, eyes unfocused as he stared over the expanse of the city. "We need more time to convert more Malestare fuel into toxin Chancellor," the Doctor was saying to Palpatine. So Christen unfortunately had been right; they were going to poison the Zillo Beast just as the Dugs had wanted to in the first place. "I suggest you hurry doctor," Palpatine said grimly. His words snapped Christen out of his apparent trace, and he scowled, turning away from the Chancellor. "Evacuate the staff to the underground shelters," Padme said sternly to 3PO. Christen stood tense by the window, peering as far into the distance as he could in search for the rampant Zillo. Anakin, however, had his attention focused on a communication with Rex he was opening. After hearing Rex's rushed explanation of what was happening with the Zillo and what Obi-Wan was doing about it, Anakin spoke. "Stay with General Kenobi; I'm on my way." "You better hurry sir, you're missing all the fun," Rex said, causing Anakin to smirk a little.

Suddenly, Christen spun from his spot by the window, his steps rushed as he quickly crossed the distance between him and the door. "He was going after the Zillo, of course; no one's gassing it today if I have anything to do with it," he said firmly as he broke his force cloak, gaining the attention of his brother. Before Anakin could respond to seeing Christen , Padme gasped. "It's coming this way!" He wanted to stay with his family but he knew what needed to be done.

Christen wasted no time in exiting the Senate Building; he had seen the Zillo's distinct form on the horizon and, considering it was at least semi-sentient and knew that Palpatine wanted it dead, it hadn't taken much for him to figure out where it was headed or who it was after. Perhaps he hadn't shared that little bit of important information about the Zillo's most likely target out of spite. Still, it wouldn't take long for the other's to figure it out. Or at least he hoped they were smart enough to figure it out. Christen really hadn't spent time on getting a speeder; instead, he had latched onto the Force and used it to propel himself from building to building. Sometimes he landed on a roof,sometimes he landed on the side of a building he had to climb up, and sometimes he landed on a sidewalk around a building. Still, so long as he was moving towards the Zillo Beast he would be making progress towards his goal. He suddenly felt the force grow tremendously, he smiled as he barly made a jump from one of the buildings, his kids had come to help, his capital ship is here.

His com link went off, and Christen tapped the frequency on his com before making a rather large leap to the side of the building. He grunted as he curled his fingers onto a window pane before starting a grueling ascent up the side of the building to the roof high above.

"Punisher here," he grunted, launching himself up a few stories with the help of the Force. It was Padme. "Christen , where are you?" For the first time in a long time, Christen felt a pang of resentment at her calling him Christen". Still, he gave himself a moment to calm down knowing that he was just still riled up after the argument with Palpatine. He didn't have the audacity to call it a conversation. "I'm…climbing up the side of a…really tall building. What about you?" he said in between his endless efforts to make it to the top.

"I'm with the Chancellor and Anakin," Padme said. "Why are you climbing a building? Where have you been?" "Um…I'm going after the Zillo too…but for different reasons…" Christen said sheepishly. He gathered his strength and force jumped off, launcing himself up to the roof.

"Why are you after the Zillo?" Padme asked suspiciously. "Padme, while I was in the building they were keeping the Zillo in, I learned a few rather important details. First of all, the Zillo is sentient, it just can't talk…I guess it's semi-sentient…but it understands what we say and do, it understands intents. Second, it didn't break out for quite some time because it saw no reason to; it was letting itself be contained. I'm sure of it. However, I overheard Palpatine specifically instruct the Doctor to kill the Zillo because it was nothing more than an animal that needed to die for the good of the Republic. There are other ways to conduct the research that he wants to without killing the Zillo. Besides that, the Zillo was right there when he said it, and it didn't like what he heard at all. Palpatine gave the okay to kill it and, well, I believe that the Zillo is after Chancellor Palpatine for ordering it to be executed."

As he spoke, Christen walked to the edge of the building, looking over the now short distance between him and the Zillo. It sure looked furious. "We still need to contain that Zillo Beast Padawan," Aayla was saying. "Well if you want to get it back under control, I suggest not attacking it. If you attack it you'll only make it angrier," Christen said, frowning as below he saw blaster bolts fired on the Zillo. The creature roared in anger and Christen tensed. "I've got to g0 Padme. I'll see you later, good luck."

He cut the communications before Aayla could protest, backing up to the opposite edge of the roof and keeping his eyes trained on the Zillo Beast that was gradually coming closer. He glanced back behind him at the Senate building that wasn't that far away; the Zillo was getting closer. Soon, it was going to be a little too close to its goal. As pleasing as the thought of Palpatine getting eaten by the Zillo was, Christen highly doubted that it would be a good thing.

Taking a deep breath and praying to the Force that what he was about to do wasn't going to be anything absolutely insane that would get him killed. Christen took off at a dead sprint towards the other side of the building and jumped.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but air and a feeling of alarm through the Force from…Obi-Wan? Before the Jedi could figure out where he was he jumped off the building. Christen grunted and contacted with the Zillo Beast's tail scales. Instinctively, Christen latched onto the first edge that he felt, grunting as him arms were suddenly yanked upwards and he dangled dangerously off its side. He couldn't help but feel dizzy as he stared down at the possible plummet to him death if he Zillo was moving alarmingly fast, and Christen felt sick in his gut as he realized he didn't have as much time as he would like to try and stop the creature. Truthfully, half of his mind was screaming in askance at him, trying to figure out what the other half was thinking.

The Zillo beast leveled out with a furious roar, giving Christen enough time to get his feet underneath him and climb up a little further along the Zillo's back. He felt the Force let out a warning equivalent to a scream for him, and he latched onto the scale ledge in front of him just moments before the creature suddenly threw itself off the building, landing roughly on the street below. Christen held on tightly eyes closed until the Zillo Beast straightened out. Once more he got on him feet and practically ran up its back, taking care to keep him footing and stay light on him feet. Once they got so close to the Senate building, Christen flattened himself out halfway up its neck, teeth grit in determination. He was almost there…

The Zillo was quick to climb the Senate Building, and Christen could feel the fear and even some ripples of anger and protectiveness throughout the building. He was pretty sure that the protectiveness was coming from Anakin, considering the Zillo's head had come to a stop so that its eye peered into the Chancellor's office. He pushed worries of Anakin and Padme aside; Anakin would take care of both of them. It was him job to stop this Zillo. The Zillo reared back the same time he reached up and grasped one of the horns on its head, causing him to lose his footing once again. Still, he clung to its smooth edge as the Zillo moved quickly across the Senate building, reaching out to the next, and the next, gradually making his way across the Zillo's head. He wasn't looking forward to the point where he would start climbing down its head.

Looking down, against his better judgment, Christen could see a small ship trying to get away from the Senate Building and the Zillo Beast. Inside, he could sense three familiar presences; Padme, Anakin, and Palpatine. That fact that the Zillo turned and focused on that small ship alarmed him, and he threw herself to the side, reaching out with both hands and calling out to the Force in the hopes that he would land just right the same time that the Zillo captured the ship.

He connected with the side of the Zillo Beast's head, clinging to and bracing his knees against the scale above its left eye, doing his best to avoid accidentally kicking it in the eye. It turned its attention from the ship in its hand, roaring at him. For a moment, Christen felt like he was going to be sick, and in the back of his mind he actually registered the fact that his com link was ringing constantly. Sorry, I'm unavailable right now, please leave a message at the beep, Christen thought sarcastically. The Zillo didn't seem to recognize him, and he could hear the sound of creaking metal coming from the ship. If it continued to tighten its grip it was either going to break the ship in half or crush it and everyone inside.

That is not the way that Anakin is going to go out; especially on my watch, Christen thought to himself as he lowered himself a little more so that he could look in the Zillo's eyes better. Its eye narrowed slightly at him and he held him breath for a moment before letting out a whistle identical to the one he had given in the domed room. He felt a ripple of recognition come from the creature through the Force, and noticed it lowered the ship slightly, releasing some of the pressure from the tight grip that it had on it. "Hey…" he said as softly as he could with the loudness of the sirens blazing through the air. "I thought I told you I'd get you out of here? This isn't helping you know," he said seriously with a small smile.

The Zillo growled at him, its eye narrowing a little more. Christen kept him senses acutely attuned to the Beast, ignoring the constant shrill of his com link as he felt its emotions. There was a stirring of anger and suspicion, so he continued and tried to explain himself.

"You've hurt a lot of innocents already," Christen said sternly. "And going after the man who ordered you killed isn't helping at all; if I'm going to get you out of here safely, you can't seem like a threat." The Zillo growled again, but it wasn't so loud, and he saw the shuttle drop even lower out of his peripherals. Gently, he rubbed the scale over its eye. He could tell that it was listening. "I need you to put the ship down," he said soothingly. "Someone I love is in there, and a very good friend and I don't want them hurt. I don't like the cruel man who threatened you either, and I'm going to do what I can to make sure he doesn't hurt you and we get you out of here, all right? But you need to put the ship down." The Zillo's eyes softened and Christen could sense reluctance coming from it. He smiled at it. "I'll protect you, I promise."

Finally, with a gentle rumble in its chest, the Zillo slowly set the ship down. In the distance, Christen could see an army of ships coming their way. He had to act quickly; already there was one ship circling the Zillo at a safe distance, and the Zillo was watching it with growing anger, annoyance, and suspicion. Christen rubbed the scale again to get its attention.

"Get down, slowly," he said gently but firmly, nodding towards the nearby ledge just a few meters away from the Zillo's feet. "Don't let them think you're a threat, don't cause them to attack you out of fear, and it will be all right; I promise you it will," Christen told it. The Zillo growled slightly in protest, but slowly lowered itself to the ledge in a resting position on its front. Christen shifted over to the side and slid down the front of its face, landing back on the solid surface of the Senate Building ledge. The feeling of being back on stable ground sent relief through him and he smiled a little. The Zillo Beast shifted its head, blinking a large glowing eye at him. He felt resignation and trust emanating from the Zillo, and immediately devoted himself to fighting to the very end for this creature. He had its trust, and he wasn't going to betray it.

Behind him, Christen suddenly heard a familiar voice shout at the top of his lungs, "Punisher!"

Christen turned back around and saw his star destroyer floating in the plantes atmosphere , the republics ships ran wildly trying to escape not too far off. Behind it the shuttle that had been circling the Zillo beast was touching down on the ledge, its two occupants radiating tension and concern.

4\. Meanwhile, Anakin was rushing towards him, and his movement was making the Zillo uneasy, causing its head to rise slightly with a warning growl. Anakin skidded to a halt just out of reach of the Zillo's third arm, his eyes fixated on Christen in fear. "Christen, get away from it!" Anakin cried out. The Zillo growled a little louder at him and Christen placed a gentle hand on its head. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you, he's just worried; he's my brother, the chosen one" he whispered to the Zillo. The creature settled down just slightly, and for a moment Christen believed he truly had the situation under control. Christen tensed, backing up rapidly as the Zillo rose back onto its feet with a roar of anger. Anakin was suddenly rushing forward, which only served to anger the Zillo further as it believed he was attacking. Christen mind filled with stress held out a hand in warning.

"Stop, brother you dumb shit you're making it worse," he shouted at Anakin. Anakin gave him an incredulous look but slowed his pace as he turned his attention back to the Zillo and issued the same sharp whistle as earlier. The Zillo let out a loud snarl as its head whipped towards him. Christen kept his voice stern and commanding as he gestured back to the ledge with him free hand. "Down!" he ordered the Zillo. It roared at him, and he could feel Anakin's fear go through the roof even as he tried to tune him out. The Zillo was angry; lowering its head towards him in a gesture that probably looked like it was going to snatch him up off the ledge in its jaws. Still, he held firm. "I told you I'd help you but you have to trust me and do as I saw, now get down!" he ordered the Zillo, willing it to understand that he was only trying to help. It roared at him again even louder, but what he sensed the others couldn't see; it was reluctantly complying, getting down on its knees, its head coming even with him. Stretching out his hand, he placed a gentle palm once more on the spot between its eyes, using the Force to send soothing waves through the creature.

"Get away from that monster so that we can gas it!" Palpatine shouted from his spot by the ship. Christen turned in his direction, him hand still on the Zillo's head. He was surprised to find Anakin just a few meters off, staring at him in wide eyed amazement and wonder.

Christen knew he had to put his powers at full blast to physically transport the beast into his capital ship. Christen used to the force to freeze everything around him. The surrounding areas began to steam and glow as metal began melting as a force storm with nightmarish laza lightnig was blast stricking the beast and Christen, both felt no pain, only power. Christen at that point could feel every single lifeform on the planet. He opened his eyes as a loud bright sonic explosion eruped engulfing the two. Outside the large blast forced Christen to lose his grip on the people and they were unfrozen. He stared in horror as a whole district was evapered by the blast. Anakin had been thrown back as he screamed for his wifes friend. When the blast was gone and Anakin stood up to view the area and he saw that there was no ziillo beast or Christen. Anakin now knew for a fact the Punisher and The Savior are both one and the same and he had tricked the Republic this whole time. But he called me brother...

Upon the Punishment Capital Ship

Christen turned his attention to the Zillo, rubbing the scale over its left eye gently. "Did you hear that? You're going to get out of here, just like I promised. We won't hurt you," Christen said soothingly to the Zillo. He dropped him voice to a low whisper so that his kids wouldn't hear. "I'm going to stand right over here and talk to my children I love, all right?" The Zillo rumbled softly and christen stepped back to where he saw his son Galen and daughter Amber were standing. He wasted no time in pulling them into a tight hug. "You really have lost your mind, haven't you father?" She said shoving gruffly into him . He pulled away, holding her at arm's length. "Mom contacted me not long after you were spotted and told me that you had jumped off the top of a building onto the Zillo Beast, and I was sure that she was lying, or had just seen wrong, but then I saw our ships core screen, just to see you dangling from a horn on its head…are you insane? Father you could have died!"

5\. He was kinda pissed to know this was the childrens idea in the first place. "Everyone seems to say that to me a lot ," Christen grunted as he pulled them in for another hug. "However, I could die from your hugs too; I can't breathe!" The kids gasped out. Christen released them, but Galen kept a hold on his arm. "You didn't have to put yourself at risk for the Zillo like you did; you didn't have to put your life at such a risk," Galen chided.

"Actually you nerfherder , I can sense that this entire situation would have ended much differently—and much more tragically—had it not been for fathers actions," came Emma's sudden warm voice. Christen smiled as Emma came over to them. She smiled at him worriedly . "You had me worried there for a moment father …but that was incredible of you," Emma said with a slight twinkle of trust and love in her eyes. Christen 's smile and love only deepened and he bowed respectively to his children. "Thank you my young Jedaii; your praise means a lot," he said abashedly.

His daughters smiles widened, as Amber spoke. "Yes, well…I have some important matters to get done when we get back to Tython with the Crechlings in sector 4 now it seems.I will have to leave you with the Zillo for a while." She looked at him sternly as he was the one to give her those jobs, she didnt understand, none of his children did, they are the masters of his order. They are the ones to teach the growing army, despite they're young age. He gave them orders as they would be soon arriving upon Tython. Christen sighed and turned back to the Zillo Beast which was lying complacently on the ground, watching him with its glowing eyes. He smiled at the Zillo, placing a hand above its eye for the hundredth time that night.

"I told you that you'd be safe; I never break my promises."


	13. Zygerria

Christen had returned to Tython gathering his strength and hiding from the galaxy for the past couple weeks. He has now been spying on the Zygerrian slave trade, taking time off from getting his new students into the Tython Jedaii schedule, as he had mostly droids training them. Christens starfighter,The Phantom Fox, sat in the planet's atmosphere in stealth mode since he felt the force grow in strength as a republican ship passed by. He knew it to be his brother. Now was his chance. He kept the stealth on as he flew down into the planet's atmosphere.

Zygerria loomed in front of the many ships that were traversing to the surface. One in particular seemed to be flying extremely carefully, as if the occupants were trying not to get caught, which they were "It looks like Zygerria is a popular place these days," Anakin commented from the pilot's seat as he looked over at Rex. Anakin wore Zygerrian armor instead of his usual Jedi attire. The brown breastplate he was wearing had shoulder guards and vertical yellow stripes over the chest. Obi-wan and Rex also wore the same garments, while Ahsoka wore her usual outfit. Obi-wan has been distant more than usual since Siri's death, while nobody has seen. Christen since they last met

"Hmmm," Obi-wan said, "Whatever is happening is attracting plenty of high-class...scum." The ship passed through the atmosphere and landed at the spaceport. Anakin, Obi-wan, Rex, and R2 exited the ship. The three men carrying helmets to go with their armor, while Ahsoka followed at a distance, having changed into a grey cloak that revealed only her eyes . "Let's just hope the information our spies gave us about the Queen is accurate," Anakin said, fiddling with a small datapad. "Remember," he continued, "I'll keep her occupied while you locate the missing people of Kiros." He, Obi-wan and Rex donned their helmet. Obi-wan was skeptical, "How do you plan on keeping the Queen occupied?" Anakin chuckled softly. "Well, with my magnetic charm, of course." At this, Obi-wan sighed inwardly. We're doomed, he thought. "Oh. Of course," he replied. Anakin took his lightsaber off his belt.

"Hold onto this, will you buddy?" he said to R2. The little droid beeped in response and took both Anakin and Obi-wan's lightsabers. Then the doors opened, the ramp lowered, and the occupants exited.

"Remind me why I'm the one playing the part of the slave?" Ahsoka said, examining her garments. Anakin looked at her. "I tried it once. I wasn't any good at it. Besides," he smiled and crossed his arms, "the role of Master comes easily to me." At this Ahsoka raised her eyebrow. "Really? Well, this time try to be convincing at it," she replied sarcastically. They walked through the dirty streets of Zygerria. Two creatures wrestled in the dirt. "Ugh," Ahsoka grumbled, "How can a civilization this advanced still practice slavery?" she questioned . "It makes them wealthy and powerful at the expense of others," Anakin spat darkly. "Before the Hutts bought my mother, she was sold in a market just like this."

As they continued walking, a male Twi-lek fell down on the path in front of them. Anakin and Ahsoka stopped walking to observe what would happen. A male Zygerrian strode forward, shoving another Twi-lek slave out of his way as he went.

"Get up, you useless skug!" he snarled. The Twi-lek raised his head. "Master," he pleaded, "the bonds-they are too heavy," he pleaded. "Tell that to my whip!" the slaver sneered, and drew his weapon. He pressed a button on the hilt, and a orange and yellow whip appeared. He cracked it, and then raised his arm to strike the slave. Instead of the whip striking the slave, his arm was stopped in mid-swing by Ahsoka's han. "You don't want to do that," she growled. The slaver yanked his arm away. "How dare you touch me!" he snarled. Anakin then stepped forward, pushing Ahsoka behind him.

"Excuse my slave...friend. She is freshly caught." The slaver, whose name was Atai Molec, gave him a suspicious look. "Hmm," he mused. "What have we here? You wear Zygerrian armor, but you're not one of us. Who are you?" he crossed his arms.

"I've come for an audience with the Queen," Anakin explained. Molec gestured expectantly, "then you have an invitation. We can't just let anyone in to speak with Her Majesty. "No invitation," Anakin replied, "but I do bring news. News the Queen will be eager to hear," he smiled. The Zygerrian was not impressed. "I doubt that. You're nothing more than a briggand," he sneered. Anakin wasn't fazed. "I wouldn't say that," he replied cockily. "Especially when the Queen learns you've prevented her from hearing the news about...Bruno Denturri." At the mention of Bruno, Molec stepped forward, and two more guards ran up from behind. They were stopped when a small circular droid flew up to them, it's metallic voice saying, "Halt. Cease all hostilities. This man is to be escorted to the palace, by order of the Queen."

The slaver only frowned, and led Anakin and a still-cloaked Ahsoka away, followed by the other two guards. Unbeknownst to them, they were followed by Obi-wan and Rex.

They were led to the throne room of the palace. Small birds twittered and flew about. One landed on the Queen's finger, before flying off. "Make certain all preparations are complete for this evening," the Queen ordered, looking at Atai, who was leading Anakin and Ahsoka into the room. The man bowed his head in acknowledgement. Anakin raised his head and looked directly at the Queen. She smiled slightly at him. "And fetch refreshments," she ordered. Molec stepped forward and bowed. "My Queen," he said, and bowed, "may I present Lars Quell." At this he gestured to Anakin.

"Hmph. So, you are the man who claims to be acquainted with Bruno Denturri?" she questioned. Anakin nodded. "Yes, Your Highness." He bowed his head to pull off his helmet, and then looked back at her. "However, when I spoke with him, he failed to describe your beauty." He smiled at her. The Queen chuckled. "Really?" she asked. "And did Bruno speak of my intense hatred of him?" she hissed, her lips curling into a sneer, "or did that escape his memory as well?" Molec pulled out a blaster and pointed it Anakin's face. Anakin looked at him, and pushed the blaster away. "He needed not speak of it, Your Majesty. In fact, Bruno Denturri will not be speaking. Ever again." He smiled sinisterly at her. The Queen raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?" "Bruno Denturri is dead. By my hand. Here is a slave from his palace," he announced, and gestured to Ahsoka. "Compensation for my efforts." At this he ripped of the cloak Ahsoka was wearing, revealing the guise of a princess.

"Unhand me, you briggand!" she cried. Anakin raised an an eyebrow at her, and she gave him a tiny sheepish grin. The Queen stood up and strode toward them. "You impress me. Lars Quell," she dictated, her voice regal. Anakin pushed Ahsoka down to a kneeling position, while the Queen continued, but gestured for Ahsoka to stand. "She is quite a prize, and to have defeated Bruno Denturri in combat? Well, you must be quite the warrior." The Queen circled her. "Hmm. The slave is certainly of fine stock. Bruno always knew how to choose a beautiful female." She ran her hand down Ahsoka's arm, and the girl slapped it away. "Don't you dare touch me," she snarled. The Queen frowned, and the two glared at each other for a moment before the Queen declared, "Though she will have to be processed." She turned back to Anakin. "Her demeanor leaves much to be desired. What is your price for her?" "With respect," Anakin bowed his head slightly, "how can I price the beauty of this slave when I look upon the magnificence of Your Highness, whose beauty would make the brightest star seem dull in comparison."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, while the Queen was pleased. "Lars Quell, you flatter me."

"No, Your Majesty," he replied, smooth as ever. "However..." he leaned forward and began whispering in her ear, and she began to laugh. "Lars, stop it. Stop it!" She hit his hand away gently. "You are a bold one, aren't you?" she teased playfully, poking his shoulder. Anakin only smirked. "My reputation precedes me, then." The Queen smiled. "Perhaps we can find a way to put a price on your slave. Come," she said, holding out her arm, which Anakin took,"walk with me." They then walked off, Ahsoka in tow.

It was very busy on the planet of Zygerria. Ships swooped in and out of the atmosphere and officials of other worlds were arriving constantly. At the moment a large grey Hutt was slithering down the path. He pushed a nearby guard out of the way, and continued on.

After the Hutt had passed, Obi-wan turned around to look behind him. Rex ran up and gestured for him to come over. "Sir, take a look at this," he whispered. Obi-wan joined Rex and looked down into the pit, in which they could see a small figure huddled in the corner. "Stand watch. I'll take a closer look," he commanded, and jumped into the pit. He knelt down and approached the figure. He gasped in shock when he realized who it was. "Governor Rashti!"

Rashti recoiled in terror as Obi-wan reached for him. "No. No!" he cried. Realizing that Rashti thought he was a Zyrgerrian, Obi-wan removed his helmet. "Governor, I am a friend, a Jedi," he reassured the Togruta as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here to help. Where are your people?"

"They're...they're..." was all the Governor got out before he fainted into Obi-wan's arms. Kenobi then slung the togruta over his shoulders before jumping out of the pit and laying Rashti against a wall.

Rex raced over to them. "Sir, did you find out where the others are?" he questioned urgently.

"Not yet," Obi-wan replied, looking at Rex. "We've got to get him out of here." He looked up above him to where one of the large flying lizard-like creatures were. Using the Force, he propelled himself up to the roof of the building. He proceeded to throw the Zyrgerrian of his mount, screaming as he went, and slapped the reins. He directed the creature to where Rex and the weak governor were. "You there! What are you doing with that slave?" a nearby guard yelled as Jedi, Clone, and Togruta mounted the beast and took off. Unfortunately, Obi-wan was hit in the shoulder by a blaster shot and tumbled to the ground, taking Rashti with him. Rex flew off to get help, while Obi-wan Kenobi looked up to the sight of about a half a dozen blaster rifles in is face.

While Obi-wan had been captured, Anakin was speaking with the Queen.

"Slavery is the natural order of things," the Queen said, waving a young Twi-lek girl with a tray of drinks forward. Taking a drink, she continued, "the weak deserve nothing more than to kneel before the strong, bound to our service. I will need men with your...talents to spread our ways across the galaxy." Unseen to the Queen, the slave girl lowered her tray and raised the knife that had been concealed under it. She swung her arm, but cried out as Anakin caught it and plucked the knife from her hand. "Let me go!" she cried, ripping her arm from his grasp and falling down in the process. She crawled backwards as the Queen stepped forward, furious. "You dare raise a hand against your master? Clearly you require further processing," she spat.

"No! I won't go back there!" she cried, standing up on a ledge. She looked behind her. Anakin, realizing what she was about to do, called out for her to stop, but to no avail. The girl screamed as she plummeted of the ledge to her death.

"Such a waste," Miraj said, sitting down while Anakin stared down at the slave girl's body in shock. "But perhaps she was more trouble than she's worth. But you, Lars," she gestured to him, "you are proving to be quite resourceful." She sighed. "Very well. I will pay your price for this slave girl. It seems I am..." she chuckled, "in need of a new servant." Anakin only looked away, before bowing and gesturing to Ahsoka. "She is my...gift to you, Your Highness."

"You are a man of many surprises. It pleases me," she smiled. "I wish for you to be my guest at the slave auction, to sit at my side." She held out her hand. Anakin took it, and walked off with her, Ahsoka glaring after them. Christen who had been on the planet for a few days uncloaked himself, showing his armor as his eyes burned bright.

The crack of a whip could be heard as it struck Obi-wan Kenobi's back once again. After he was captured, he had been taken to the cell he was in now, chained to the wall, and tortured endlessly for information. "Well?" Atai Molec asked, "who is he?" He circled Kenobi and looked at the guard. The guard replied, "he hasn't talked, but I'll loosen his tongue," he replied, striking their prisoner again, while Molec continued to circle. "Why would a slaver rescue a slave from the palace? It's suicide," he stated, while Obi-wan was struck again, this time turning his head toward the slaver, and his eyes widened, The other zygerrian raised the whip again, but Atai stopped him. "Wait," he said, walking over to the suspended Jedi. "I know you. From the hologram." Obi-wan grunted as the slaver grabbed his face and forced it to turn towards him.

"I never forget a Jedi."

The courtyard was filled with cheers as a Zyrgerrian stepped onto the raised platform in the center and held up his arms. "Your Highness, Zygerria!" he announced, "guests of a thousand worlds, your auction begins with slaves of unmatched quality, and an impossible quantity! I give you...Togruta, from the Kiros system!" He gestured to the entrance, which opened, permitting Governor Rashti to hobble in, clutching his side.

Ahsoka gasped when she saw him. "Oh no," she said, eyes widening. She shared a look with Anakin while the Zygerrian continued. "This handsome sample represents a lot of numbering. No less than fifty thousand beings!" The crowd roared in approval. "Note the compliance. Virtually untrained in combat, there will be no rebellion from these slaves!"

Anakin locked eyes with Rex before returning his attention to the Queen. "So," he ventured, "where do you keep 50,000 slaves like the people of Kiros?" But the Queen didn't respond. The door behind the Queen opened and Atai Molec entered. "Your Majesty, I have urgent news," he greeted her, before bending down to whisper in her ear. After a moment she waved him away.

"All will be revealed in time," was her cryptic answer, before standing up and walking to the edge of the balcony. She held her arms up for silence and announced, "Before we begin the auction, I would welcome a most special guest: Obi-wan Kenobi. Jedi knight."

Anakin and Ahsoka turned to the entrance in shock and watched Obi-wan walk out, followed closely by two guards. His entrance was met with great dissent, most of the onlookers booing as the Queen continued her speech.

"My friends, my good friends," she reassured them, "do not fear the Jedi. They are no different from others we have forced into submission, for they have forsaken their ideals to serve a corrupt Senate. Every Jedi has become a slave to the Republic. The Jedi Order is weak, and we will help break it." Christen laughed at that true statement, he knew he needed to move then reached down and picked up a whip that was laying on the edge of the balcony and turned to Anakin. "Teach the Jedi his place," she commanded, holding the whip out to him.

After a moment, Anakin took the weapon. He looked at it, and then smirked at the Miraj. He turned around and exited the balcony, Ahsoka gazing worriedly after him.

Christen was momentarily blending in with the crowd as Anakin was greeted with cheers as he made his way over to the platform. Obi-wan turned to look, but was forced on his knees with his hands on the back of his head. He stopped behind Obi-wan and both men turned their heads slightly to hear the crowd demanding the Jedi Master's whipping. "Looks like I have to rescue you again, old man," Anakin told his Master. Obi-wan seemed slightly relieved. "I..knew you'd have a backup plan.

Anakin looked up at the balcony where Queen Miraj was watching. "Prove to me you are a slaver," she commanded. "Swing that whip, or die beside him." "Well those are some lousy options," he mumbled to himself. Time to initiate plan B, he thought. He turned to look at Rex, who nodded. He turned to look at Ahsoka. She nodded as well. Turning to look at the Queen again, he bowed deeply and ignited the whip, saying, "you leave me no choice, Highness."

He stood up and saluted. Then he swung the whip, and many things occurred all at once. The whip connected with a nearby guard's arm. Anakin pulled back the whip while Obi-wan used the distraction to push the guard off the platform. R2 shot Anakin and Obi-wan's lightsabers into the air. Anakin caught his own, and then tossed the other to Obi-wan. Christen smirked as he was impressed by his brothers tactics.

"Guards! Subdue them!" the Queen ordered, while the two Jedi began to deflect blaster bolts shot at them. Rex tossed a thermal detonator at nearby Zygerrians, propelling them out the window along with a cloud of black smoke. Then it was Ahsoka's turn to join the action. She knocked Atai Molec's blaster out of his hand and flung him onto his back, knocking him out. She then held out her hand and caught the lightsaber R2 launched into the air. Skillfully blocking two blaster bolts sent at her, she took care of the two guards on each side of the door.

Running around a corner, Rex came face to face with three guards each leveling a blaster at him. He stopped, but was tackled from behind and fell down, landing near Anakin and Obi-wan. Anakin turned to Ahsoka and called, "Ahsoka, the Queen!" Hearing this, the Padawan turned to the Queen and held her lightsaber close to Her Highnesses' slimy slaver neck. "Looks like your slave empire is finished-again."

The Queen only curled her lip in response. "Get that thing out of my face, you little skug!" she sneered, pressing a button on the armrest of her throne. Ahsoka screamed as electricity coursed through her veins and she collapsed at the Queen's feet as her world went black. Christen sighed as he knew this would get worse and worse.

Dozens more Zygerrians raced into the courtyard and surrounded the two Jedi, who were standing back to back. One whip around Rex's wrist and he was out like a light. Anakin and Obi-wan then proceeded to block the whips that were directed at them. One caught Obi-wan around the wrist and another around the neck, and he was down as well. Only Anakin was left. Using the whip in his possession, he took out a few Zygerrian guards. He twirled the whip in the air and dodged another, but one whip caught him around his wrists, flinging his lihgtsaber out of his hand. He attempted to call it to him with the Force, but was stopped by a another whip wrapping around his left wrist. He screamed as yet another wrapped around his right ankle. Another wrapped around his neck.

From her place in the balcony, Queen Miraj watched Anakin Skywalker make his last stand against her warriors. "Such determination," she marveled in awe. With great difficulty, Anakin stood up and bellowed in rage. He pulled himself forward in an attempt to free himself, but his back arched up in pain in response to a whip wrapping itself around his leg. Weary from the fight and exhausted by the pain all the electricity had caused, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker fell onto the platform, electricity racing across his body, his arm of flesh dangling over the edge.

Christen smiled as he walked out of the building, knowing exactly where his brother and friends were being taken in due time.

Ahsoka Tano sat peacefully in her prison, meditating. She ignored the bird pecking at the cage, which was suspended high in the air. But although she didn't show it, she payed attention to Atai Molec, who was approaching her cage from behind. "The Queen has promised that once the other Jedi is tamed, you will be mine, little skug," he sneered. Ahsoka didn't reply. She simply waved her hand, and Atai Molec found himself hanging onto the railing attached to the roof by one hand. After he pulled himself back over and stood up, Ahsoka's cocky voice sounded, "You'd better hope that doesn't happen." Molec growled and grabbed a small cylinder off his belt. He pressed the button, and Ahsoka screamed as electricity raced through her body. After a moment, it stopped, and she gasped from the pain. The assault soon continued, and Molec's cruel lips curled into a smile as he heard her screaming.

Christen had to restrain himself from murdering this fucker right there. He noticed she was knocked out and used the force to calm her mind since it was still racing. He continued on, he was halfway through mapping the entire area. And he had found out his friend, sort of, Obi -wan was seen boarding a ship. To where, Christen did not know.

The Zygerrian slave ship sped on toward its destination of the planet Kadavo. It entered the atmosphere and soared over the crater-filled ground, heading toward a small facility. Upon reaching the landing platform, the ramp lowered and Obi-wan, Rex, and Governor Rashti exited, escorted by two guards. They were met by the sight of dozens of Togrutas standing on small octagonal platforms. "My people," the governor exclaimed, "we have found them." They didn't have long to dwell on that fact, since Obi-wan was jabbed from behind, the guard telling him to keep moving. As they continued to walk, Obi-wan could see a slightly chubby Zygerrian lounging in a throne-like chair not far off.

"General Kenobi," the Zygerrian addressed him, "you are the first Jedi I have entertained at our education center. Few possess a Jedi's resolve, and it is strength of will that is my greatest enemy," he said, clenching his fist. He pressed a button on his armrest, and the platforms fell out from under the first row of Togrutas. They screamed as they plummeted into what seemed to be a vast black pit of nothingness. Obi-wan gazed down into the pit, and glared at the Zygerrain. "Now that I have your attention, Jedi, be aware that it will not be you who suffers," his chair rotated away from them, "should you choose to defy me." The threat lingered in the air as Obi-wan turned and limped away.

The two lizard-creatures flew side by side as they glided through the painted orange sky. One carried a guard, while the other carried Anakin and the Queen. At the moment, the Queen was resting her head against Anakin's back with her arms wrapped around his waist, while Anakin controlled the creature. The Queen raised her head and looked at him. "You were once a slave, weren't you?" she asked, her golden eyes knowing. "What makes you think I was a slave?" Anakin's hard voice answered, turning his head slightly to look at her. "The noble selflessness in your eyes, and your commitment to the service of something greater than yourself. Your Jedi, the Grand Republic, even your friends." Her voice carried a hint of admiration. My eyes have a noble selflessness? he thought. Anakin's eyebrows narrowed as he glanced back at her. "I don't see commitment as slavery," he said coldly. "Oh, it is. When it comes at the cost of yourself," she replied."What you could be, with you willingly beside me, there is nothing we could not accomplish!" she reasoned, wrapping an arm around his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "We are nothing. You have all the power," Anakin disagreed.

The Queen raised her head to look at him. The creatures soared through the sky until they reached the palace. Anakin guided the creature to a landing spot, and dismounted. He then turned around, and taking her hand, helped the Queen off. He turned to go, but turned back to look at her when she didn't release his hand from her grasp. "What if I freed your friends?" she proposed, releasing his hand and turning to stroke the creature. "Would you promise to stay? Commit to serving me?" She looked up at him, eyes hopeful. She turned away from the creature and approached him. "If a Jedi as noble as you gave his word, I think you might keep it," she said, placing her hand on her hip. Anakin turned away. "I don't trust you."

The Queen snorted in frustration. "Have I been anything but honest? I have no reason to lie, I am who I am. It is you. You who are the complicated one." She walked in front of him. "Now, Master Skywalker, the future of your friends lay in your hands." She turned away, looking back as she walked off. "If they are to live as slaves, it will be you who keeps them that way."

The mining facility was sweltering hot, causing all the slaves to sweat viciously, and the hard labor didn't help. Slaves moaned and groaned as they shoveled coal into mining carts. The Zygerrian in charge of the facility flew his throne over to a particular group of slaves. "Obi-wan Kenobi," he sneered. "Once a Jedi Master, now a Jedi slave." He laughed cruelly. "Pitiful." Obi-wan watched as the zygerrian hovered off before turning back to shoveling. The slaves were hard at work shoveling, turning large cranks, pushing heavy carts, the list seemed endless.

A patrolling guard spotted Rashti resting against a pile of coal. He ignited his whip and struck his back. "Keep eyes on your toil, skug!" he snarled. Obi-wan watched as a nearby Togruta pushed a cart. "Everything about this place is designed to shatter the will," he told Rex. "It has already begun to affect these poor people," he said as he watched Rashti being whipped. His shock collar crackled as a whip struck it. The guard jabbed a finger at him. "Speech is forbidden." "I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Obi-wan apologized. The guard struck Rashti again. "Stop!" Obi-wan begged. "It's my mistake. Leave him alone!" The guard just curled his lip as another stabbed Obi-wan's collar with an electro-jabber, and the Jedi cried out and clutched his neck in pain. After a moment, the electro-jabber was taken away. The other guard stepped forward menacingly. "Now my slave gives me commands?" He pulled out a whip and struck Rashti's back, while yelling, "Beg! Beg me before this one dies because of you!"

On his hands and knees, Obi-wan held up his hand. "No. Please. Forgive me...Master." Laughing, the slaver walked off. Obi-wan crawled to Rashti and placed a hand on his shoulder, but it was slapped away. "Keep away from me," he pleaded. "Jedi only make things worse!" Obi-wan only looked at Rex, and hung his head in defeat.

He didn't know what to do.

Anakin and the Queen strolled together down the streets of Zygerria, Miraj's arm linked around his. Christen following closely behind, hearing every word that was spoken

"Have you considered my offer, Skywalker? If you vow loyalty to me, I will free your friends," she promised. Anakin stared straight ahead, his blue sapphires now shards of ice. "It's not an easy decision." The Queen smiled. "Curious. I thought the Jedi were selfless, placing the needs of others before their own." Anakin didn't say anything, and even if he was going to, it would have been interrupted by a guard running around the corner. The guard stopped and bowed. "My Queen, I bring word. Your guest Visquis from the Exchange has arrived." The Queen sighed as she released Anakin's arm and began to walk off towards the palace. "Sooner than anticipated. Make sure that all the preparations have been made." The guard bowed and sped off. "I would ask that you not attend this meeting. I do not think that it would be a good idea," Miraj told Anakin. "Can I trust you not to run away?" she gestured to his lightsaber.

Anakin looked at his weapon, and then snatched it off his belt. He stuck the business end of it in her face and said harshly, "I don't run away from anything, Your Highness." The two guards behind her ran up and leveled ther blasters at the back of Anakin's head. The Queen just chuckled and took the lightsaber from him. She then turned around and began to walk away. One of the guards jabbed him in the back, and he backed up in a corner, hands in the air. For some reason, the words the Queen had told him earlier ran through his head: The future of your friends lay in your hands. If they are to live as slaves, it will be you who keeps them that way. That was something he would not let happen.

Obi-wan was in despair. He had to help the people of Kiros, but he couldn't help them without causing the slavers to punish the people, therefore doing more harm to them than good. He continued to labor heavily, when a whip struck his back. What wrong have I done now? he thought worriedly, as he looked up at the slaver. "Get up, skug. The Queen has ordered your release," he spat disgustedly. The slaver then turned and pointed at Rex. "You too. Get moving." Rex gave Obi-wan a questioning look, and Obi-wan just shrugged. Neither of them knew why they were being released. That was something to figure out later, though. They needed to focus on the here and now.

They walked wearily away from the people of Kiros and followed the slaver until they had exited the facility. From there, they were escorted to a ship and shoved roughly inside. Once they were inside, their shock collars were removed, and Obi-wan's lightsaber and Rex's blaster were returned to each of them, respectively. A medical droid attended to them as well while the Zygerrian talked.

"You need not worry about your friend. He will rendezvous with you after you reach your destination. Jump to hyperspace, and he will follow. He will know where to find you. The coordinates are already in the hyperdrive." With that, the slaver left, the ramp closing behind him. The Jedi and Clone stood, wondering what the Zygerrian had meant by his confusing words. "Why do you think we're being released?" a feminine voice piped up from behind them, causing them to jump. A very familiar female voice. They spun around, and Rex was the first to reply. "Commander Tano? What are you doing here?" he asked, his normally impassive face clearly expressing the surprise and confusion he was feeling.

Ahsoka just shrugged, holding out her hands for emphasis. "Beats me. One of those slimemos came and told me that the Queen had ordered my release, and not to worry about my friends since they would be joining me soon. Then he brought me here and left. He gave me my lightsaber and took my shock collar off before leaving, though, which surprised me." She looked at Obi-wan, confused. "Back to my first question: do you know why we are being released?"

Rex and Obi-wan just shook their heads. "We were told the same thing as you. I have no idea why the Queen would want to release us. We destroyed the slave auction and got rid of many of her guards. It just doesn't make sense." Rex nodded, and jumped in. "Besides, why would a slaver want to free her slaves? She would want to keep them, not get them off-planet. And if she had sold us, they wouldn't bother with returning our lightsabers and removing our shock collars." Obi-wan nodded his head in agreement.

"What makes sense to me," Ahsoka replied, walking over to the hyperdrive, "is to find out where the Queen wants us to go. That way, we might find out a bit more about what she's up to." With that, she engaged the hyperdrive, stars turning into blue streaks as they made the jump to hyperspace.

Did Anakin regret his choice? He didn't know. Obi-wan, Ahsoka, and Rex were free, thanks to the deal he had made, but at what cost? He was now a servant to the Queen, and the people of Kiros were nowhere near freedom. What would Padme think when she found out? What would she do? He contemplated all this as he followed the Queen to her throne room, where a tall quarren awaited them. Upon seeing the Queen, the quarren bowed deeply.

"Your majesty, it is good to see you. Thank you so much for inviting me to your planet," Visquis thanked her graciously. The Queen smiled. "It is my pleasure, Visquis." She paused. "You must be tired after your journey. Come, let us have refreshment," she proposed. Visquis nodded. "Refreshment would be most welcome," he thanked her graciously. The Queen ordered a nearby slave to fetch the necessary

food and drink, and the slave rushed off to fulfill his duty, lest he be punished for disobeying. Anakin was surprised at how well the two seemed to get along with each other. On the contrary, it really isn't surprising at all, he reprimanded himself as he watched the Queen converse with the quarrren. After all, they're both slavers.

"...and I am sure that you will be very pleased at the grand selection of slaves we possess," the Queen assured Visquis. "I myself have acquired a new slave that I have appointed as my personal bodyguard. He is...quite the character." She smiled at Anakin, and Visquis eyed him as well. The slaver met the Jedi's eyes, and Anakin held his gaze, his eyes hardening. "Indeed," Visquis replied, as he continued to look Anakin up and down, before turning back to the Queen. "You've put him to good use, but he seems a bit too headstrong. Perhaps something should be done about it." The Queen simply looked at Anakin and smiled. "Perhaps." She then waved over a nearby guard. "Your Highness?" the guard inquired. While keeping her eyes on her Jedi slave, she instructed the guard, "take Skywalker and prepare him for the meeting." The guard bowed and escorted him out.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Anakin and the guard reached their destination: a dank room that greatly resembled a prison cell. "What am I doing here?" Anakin questioned the guard. The guard smirked and pushed him up against the wall. "Time for a little nap, skug." That was all Anakin remembered before the stun bolt hit him, and he collapsed limply to the floor.

Blue streaks of light returned to their normal visage of stars as the ship exited hyperspace. Obi-wan, Rex, and Ahsoka leaned forward eagerly to find out where the Queen had sent them to. As the large city-planet loomed before the trio, all three jolted back in shock and confusion. "Coruscant? Of all the places in the galaxy, why Coruscant?" Ahsoka cried indignantly, looking from Obi-wan to Rex, obviously wondering if either of them knew the answer. "I agree with the Commander. It just doesn't make sense. Why would she send us to the capital of the Republic?" Rex reasoned. "By sending us here, it gives us the opportunity to send reinforcements to the planet. It's completely illogical." Rex looked at Obi-wan. "What do you think, General?"

Obi-wan rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "I don't think that the Queen sent us here voluntarily. Someone else wanted the hyperdrive to be programmed for Coruscant, and they had a reason for doing it. Something tells me that were going to know where whoever programmed this ship wants us to go very soon." Just after he finished saying this, the comm unit on the control panel beeped. Obi-wan pressed the button to show the message, and these words rolled across the screen: After you've reached Coruscant, go to the Senate building. You need to see what's going to happen. I'll meet up with you later. I'm sorry. -A.

They stared at the message in shock. Ahsoka was the first to speak. "What does Anakin have to do with this? Why did he send us to Coruscant? What's going to happen in the Senate?" Rex answered, "I don't know, but I sure as heck don't like it." The ship entered Coruscant's atmosphere, and Obi-wan landed it on a landing platform close to the Senate building. They entered and made their way to the main chamber where the delegates were debating. The three companions observed their surroundings, staying in the shadows. Obi-wan whispered to the others, "I have a bad feeling about this.

It was a typical day in the Senate. Chancellor Palpatine stood in the central pod listening to the delegates debate. They were arguing back and forth about producing more clone troops and how much money it would cost, and had been for hours. Finally Bail Organa stepped forward moved his pod to the center of the chamber. "Friends, please. Producing more troops will cost the Republic money, and money is something the Republic is losing. We can't afford more troops!" Lott Dodd came forward. "Yes, but isn't it worth it if we win this war?"

The Chancellor looked down at the communications device on his podium. "Excuse me, Senators, but we have an incoming transmission from the planet Zygerria." He pressed a button, and an image of the Queen appeared. "Please forgive my intrusion, Senators," she smirked, not sounding sorry at all, "but I bring news that I believe the Republic will be eager to hear. I trust that your Jedi have arrived without complication?"

Padme Amidala was the next to speak. "What Jedi? The Republic never sent any Jedi to Zygerria," she stated, confused. The Queen's smirk grew larger as she examined her nails. "The Republic might have not, but the Jedi Order certainly did. Isn't that right, Master Kenobi?" She smiled wickedly at him, and her hologram flickered. Obi-wan stepped forward. "Why did you send us here?" "My dear Master Kenobi, understand that it is not I who sent you back to Coruscant. I was quite against it, but he insisted. He wanted to make sure that you would be free before he agreed to my offer." Her smile transformed into a grimace as she continued, "I despised his terms, but I got a new slave, and he saw that you got your freedom. I am a woman of my word, after all, and it appears that he honors bargains as well."

"No," Obi-wan gasped. "He wouldn't!" This outburst earned him questioning looks from Ahsoka, Rex, and many senators, including Padme. "Oh yes, he would. If his friends' freedom is at stake, he would. A former slave would never want others, especially those close to him, to live as slaves." She smiled, and her hologram flicker as loud crashing sounds were soon heard, then quickly replaced the voice by another. And the hologram moved to show the whole room in which the queen was in.

Her voice cut off as her air was cut off and she clutched at her throat. The comlink was levitating in the air, Christen wanted the republic to see him. "You should have listened to the Jedi," Christen spat. "My friends- where are they?" he hissed. The Queen continued to grasp at her throat. "Lord savior," she wheezed, "and your friends, I had no idea" Angrily, Christen released her by throwing her against the ground and looked at her expectantly with eyes full of fury as she coughed and rubbed her throat. "You dare touch my family, you sick slaving scum" the voice he used was raw and powerful. The queen tried to get back up but filled with so much fear, could not stand up. "Your family, I have none of your family here" she spoke up softly in submission, it only dug her grave deeper as he force ran to her picking her up by the neck, she choked for air. Christen pointed towards Anakin. "He is my brother, the last of my family, I will not allow you to enslave him, this was and is your last mistake. My queen" he said with such distaste. He pulled his lightsaber out, igniting them as the orange glow flared into his enemies eyes. "I gave you a subtle message to stop this sickening sport, but you refused and now you expect me to be gracious when you enslave my own family"

Everyone in the Senate chamber leaned forward, waiting. Obi-wan's eyes were fixed on the hologram. He watched as Christen stood over her and stuck his lightsaber in her face. She tried to crawl away, laughing as he watched her back up in a corner, hands raised. "My lord, please I had no idea, just allow me to expl..." she was cut off as Christen threw his right hand at her, smashing her face. Teeth and blood fell on the floor as he uses the force to keep her up. He knelt before her, as he looked into her eyes.

"My lady please allow ME to explain" he whispered in her ear as he slashed his two lightsabers into an x, slicing her body into four.

Anakin turned to Christen in surprise, as did the remaining slavers in the room, he could feel the anger. The slavers suddenly grabbed their throats as blood started pouring from their eyes and nose, the crunch of breaking bones sounded as they fell to the floor dead. He looked at the man who had been a mystery since he met him. "Brother? My mother had no other children, you lie, even if you found my mother's data pad she made for me." His words were laced with venom. Christen just laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your heart is not in your words. You wouldn't remember me anyway. A testament to my truth . Here," he took his mask and helmet off, and quickly dug into his armor pocket on his belt and held out a similar datapad with the initials C.S.

"Our mother made this for me when I was ten." He turned toward a bronze colored humanoid droid that came running in. "47 I need you to lead twenty of my men to the late queens home and raid the place" he said in a deep commanding voice, he could feel the fear in his brothers mind as more and more he was seeing himself in him.

"Yes Master Skywalker, is there any restrictions on who I can kill?" The droid gleamed, well, as close a droid could. " Innocents can be killed but I want no disintegrations HK! And I mean it" he snarled lightly as the droid chuckled as it turned an exited the room.

"I've never seen a droid like that before, it looks so ancient!" Anakin grumbled as he stared at his so called brothers data pad.

"Yes well I dug him up in a Sith temple along with many other things I found on Dantooine" he spoke in a calm yet razor sharp voice. "Come with me, brother we have much to talk about" he gleamed in pride as he walked out the room down the same corridor the droid came from.

All Anakin could do was follow. He looked at the object in his hands and saw a hologram of his mother, a toddler which he could tell was him, but the third person a boy around 12 years old was hugging her and had his hand on his younger self's head. Anakin was momentarily stunned as every step he took he saw another dismembered body of a Zyggerrian, every turn lead to another hall filled with bodies, each killed by who he could now call his' brother'.after falling behind due to tripping on bodies he found his brother near the slaves. He walked behind him as he looked out onto the thousands of slaves that could be seen.

He couldn't hold it in any more. "Your actually my brother?" It was more of a question then a statement. But only silence answered before Christen spoke. "Yes, Anakin, I am your brother, it was very crucial that you did not remember me. I don't know why she never told you about me, but we both know mother doesn't just do something without a valid reason" he knew this time would come. "But how, mom never.." anakin tried to say before he was cut off. "Told you I was Tattooines gladiator? That you had a sibling? I know, she was always keeping secrets from you" Christen breathes out slowly smiling at the memories. He turned to his brother, "Anakin don't try to have me tell you everything. Just listen to the force, listen to your heart, what does it tell you?" He asked him, his fire eyes looking into his brothers ocean blue ones.

He saw Anakin close his eyes and then felt the familiar force aura of his brother,

"That you are telling the truth, that you are my brother, that you are the Punisher and the Lord Savior" he said rapidly almost as if he was on the verge of crying. Christen chuckled as he looked to his brother. " Wait a second, did you say you were the Tatooine gladiator, the same gladiator that single handedly killed dozens of rancors, the same one that went rouge..." Ankin stopped as all the dots started connecting. "Good, good brother, finally you see truth" he paused "Anakin there is a starfighter that used to be a old one of mine, it should be outside the building where you and your Republic were landing. Take it and go back to the Jedi, but I need you to promise me something" he walked away down to the slaves, who had noticed them and the guards who had been force choked by Christen while he had his conversation.

"Wait, what promise and that's it? I still don't know why did you leave us?" Anakin screamed at him with pain in his knew this was coming, he turned to his brother and saw tears in his eyes. "Come here Anakin and you can see" he spoke. His brother quickly closed the distance between them. Christen held out his hand but saw his brothers eyes had been on something else. I need you to promise not to tell anybody what we have spoken about!" He wasn't asking and he knew Anakin could tell.

He looked in his eyes to see he was staring at the one glowing scar that could be seen when his helmet is off.

"Anakin, ANI!" He shouted finally getting his attention, he surprised himself as he hasn't said that name since he ran away "Sorry, I heard and I promise,it's just your neck is glowing" he softly spoke, as he held his hand out to meet his brothers. His brother asked one more fucking question "So you're really Lord Savior, and your knights are...? Cut off by an agitated Christen, "Yes! My neck is glowing. It's a scar that covers most of my body, and the knights ,at least the ones you have seen, have been my children." His brothers eyes literally lit up. "I'm so sorry I entirely forgot you had children, I've never seen them, does Abigail know? I heard from Padme about what happened and I never got to speak to you, as you disappeared while going to Courscaunt."

This caused Christen to scowl making his brother take a couple steps back. The force began swirling around them. Momentarily scaring Anakin, before it could become a small pocket of a force storm, he calmed down sensing his brother unease, with no easy or straight answer. "Don't be afraid Anakin, I know seeing such power as this is a very rare thing for you. And as for my children I have seven as of now , and before I left I already knew she was pregnant with my eighth child, and no she does not know about our children fighting a war at a young age. But the youngest two refused to leave my wife. Anakin please, I don't want to hear about Padme or Abigail anyone.

"Christen, I mean brother you have killed over ten Jedi, how can I not be afraid, and how could you become so dark?" he questioned. This made Christen stop in his tracks as he turned to look Anakin in the eyes, deep blue staring into lava orange as silence followed. To Anakin it seemed like his soul was being taken out of him, time went by slowly, but it went back to normal when his brother spoke. "Well, the number is thirty two, you just haven't found them yet. And I am not dark and I am not light Anakin. I am balanced, something Jedi like you will never understand. Now I know you will have lots of questions, but we don't have time before I have to send you back to your republic.

Christen grabbed his hand as he quickly sent over a vision of how he left their mom. Anakin screamed when the vision ended and Christen used the force to put Anakin to sleep. Taking his brothers limp sleeping body, he heard a door slam open, looking up to see his children standing in full minted armor similar to his own, along with a dozen squads of the punishment fleets troops. "Commanders I want this place raided and looted,free the slaves that are in the lower levels, I have this level covered" Christen commanded. His children each took two squadrons with them. Christen was left with his favorite squadron, the bad batch.

Each trooper was cloned different from the others, each having a certain set of skills to make the perfect team. "Bad batch I want you to take this Jedi to the republican starfighter outside and have it set course for Courscaunt. This is my brother, the chosen one, I expect nothing but the best care for him, do you understand" he asked as he started down to the slaves. Each had been tied with energy ropes. On this level alone there was at least a couple hundred slaves. He looked back as he saw his brother being carried away. Now to get all these slaves to Tython, all the slaves he rescued eventually moved to Tython, but as of now he had another mission. He looked down at his com and noticed it was blinking with a message?' His frown under his mask widened into a smile as he quickly sent an order for the punishment fleet to head into hyperspace.

Obi-Wan Kenobi noticed his wrist communicator flashing as he was talking to Anakin. He activated it, the figure before him dodging blaster shots and swinging his lightsaber in defensive motions. "General Kenobi?!" the man said in a panicked tone. "Yes Master Barrek?" Obi-Wan asked. "Need immediate evac from Planetary system Hypori! Our forces are totally destroyed! Not many of us left!" Barrek said as he dodged left and right on the small hologram. "Kenobi! He's unstoppable! We somehow dropped out of hyperspace. You must hurry, Lord Savior is hunting us! GWAAAAH!" he yelled as the hologram went dark. "Master Barrek?! Come in Master Barrek!" Kenobi started yelling in alarm.

Hypori

Kenobi's communication was cut off as a large black boot smashed the communicator.

The saviors clones continued firing at the downed Republic assault ships in an effort to wipe out the surviving Jedi. Christen stood with his new force imbued claw-like attachments that his son Galen had built for him as well as for a group of younglings back on Tython raised up into the air, and the droids ceased fire. The Jedi had made a mistake, they came out of hyperspace too soon, and landed in the system that he was currently conquering for resources before the future empire got to it first.

Inside the remains of their starship, the six surviving Jedi were trying to catch their breath. Pong Krell, , Aayla Secura, K'Kruhk, Tarr Seirr, and Sha'a Gi were the only ones left, and they weren't sure they would get out of there alive. "He is unstoppable," K'Kruhk panted, his lightsaber in his hand. "We've never before been outmaneuvered before. His strategy is flawless." "We're doomed," Gi said in a depressed tone. "Enough of that talk! Focus, we are Jedi!" Pong Krell said in an encouraging tone. Everyone nodded their heads in approval. But then Christen made his announcement.

"JEDI SCUM," his voice reverberated through the air. His voice was deep and inhuman, and it struck fear in many people. All the Jedi immediately jumped to attention, heading for all the openings to keep an eye out for the new Jedaii Lord.

"YOU ARE SURROUNDED, YOUR CLONE ARMY DECIMATED IN MINUTES. MAKE PEACE WITH THE FORCE NOW, FOR THIS IS YOUR FINAL STAND. BUT I AM NOT COMPLETELY MERCILESS. I WILL GRANT YOU A WARRIOR'S DEATH. PREPARE TO DIE!" Christen announced. Then everyone got at attention, for they knew that this Jedaii Lord was powerful.

For a few seconds everything was dead silent. Then they heard the breathing.

It was a chilling sound. The oxygen going in, and the carbon dioxide coming out, slowly. The breathing seemed to echo throughout the remains of the ship. HOOOO CUHHH, HOOOO CUHHH. "That noise..." fear in her voice. "He's coming to fight us, alone," Pong Krell said in a strangely calm tone. Gi was the first to crack, as he activated his lightsaber and ran outside, screaming a battle cry. "NO!" Pong Krell yelled, but it was too late. The padawan ran out into the open, only to be hit with a blast or fiery orange Force Lightning.

He cried in pain until a dark form fell from above and stabbed a orange lightsaber blade through the padawan's back. For the first time, Pong Krell got a good look at Lord Savior. He wore a black scale looking armor suit that covered every part of his body. There appeared to be six lightsabers around his waist, and a second belt. There were multiple lightsabers crystals embedded on the belt, no doubt taken from Jedi he had slain. On his shoulders, near his head, were some kind of metal platings, and next to them were Mandolorian iron shoulder pads. His hands covered by the suit had many accessories, with sharp claw-like structures on the fingers. But the scariest part was the helmet. He felt as though he was looking straight into pure power, the man's lavaish eyes made his skin crawl

"I can feel your emotions Jedi, you wonder where or what this armor is? Well let me tell you' I know you all remember. I did in fact take your Zillo beast and since then have created a clone. One I can kill by myself, tear the scales apart and created a new indestructible armor, its fascinating isn't it?" his voice turning more demonic as he spoke.

Christen chuckled in that horrible, deep voice before leaping back onto the top of the ship, away from the Jedi. His breathing could still be heard by the Jedi.

They all ignited their lightsabers and began to back away slowly from the large opening Christen was just in. Thanks to the shadows, no one would look up and see Christen studying his prey. He then released the magnetic grip on his boots that held him to the ceiling and activated his lava lightsabers as he fell to the ground. When he landed, he released a Force wave that sent the Jedi flying. They quickly recovered and charged at the Jedaii. He held his lightsaber in reverse-style Shien grip, something only the best lightsaber wielders could use effectively. They attacked him as one body, but he leaped, sliced, and blocked his way through their forces. He then jumped into the air and straightened out his body, knocking everyone back with a Force Repulse except for K'Kruhk, who charged forward.

Christen took one swing, severing the top of K'Kruhk's lightsaber. Christen then threw his clawed hand forward, slicing into K'Kruhk's body. Christen retracted his hand, which was now covered in blood. The jedi gasped in horror and sent a large pile of junk at Christen, who knocked them aside with a wave of his hand. Tarr Seirr ran forward, his lightsaber held high. Christen smiled in his helmet as he threw one of his lightsaber at Tarr Seirr, which impaled itself in his heart. His face took on a surprised look as the life left his eyes.

Aayla Secura charged forward as well, but Christen was ready. He used the Force to grab Tarr Seirr's body and smash it into Aayla, sending both flying into the ceiling. His lightsaber fell from Tarr Seirr's body and he grabbed it out of the air, igniting it and turning on the remaining two Jedi. They attacked him together, forcing him to swing left and right to block their attacks. Christen then grabbed one of Pong Krell's four arms in his right hand while blocking 's blow with his left (where his lightsaber was). He then pulled the Force into a kick he used on Pong Krell, knocking him into a junk pile and causing him to lose his lightsaber.

"I've heard your not one who likes clones" he laughed as he then went full power on , swinging like a madman. , while an excellent Jedi, was losing this fight. Christen was too fast and too strong. "Say goodbye, Jedi," he hissed as he jabbed his lightsaber at her heart. She used the force to block it, but the power of the blow sent her crashing into a wall, unconscious.

Christen sensed Pong Krell behind him and turned. The Jedi tried to call his lightsaber to him, but Christen smashed it with one stomp of his boot. Christen raised his lightsabers up, preparing to attack. Pong Krell, thinking fast, Force pulled one of Christen's lightsabers to himself and ignited it, a green blade coming out. "Any last words, Jedi?" Christen asked as he prepared to lunge. When Krell said nothing, Christen said "Guess not" and lunged. Krell lunged as well, knowing that he would not survive the oncoming battle.

Christen sighed as he signaled his droid ships of his location , returning to the bodies of the jedi, he started chuckling again. "Now the hunt will get all the more exciting," he said to himself as he went over to the dead bodies and inspected their lightsabers before using the force to stripe the crystals from the hilt, forcing them to embed into his belts. "Such ugly ass fucking colors," he muttered as he walked over to K'Kruhk's dead body and examined it. "Whaddya know? He's still alive," Christen said as he kneeled down.

It was true, K'Kruhk was alive, but barely. The injury he had received from Christen's claws was bleeding. Christen could see he was dying a slow and painful death. The Jedaii stood up and activated his familiar lava blade. "Rest now, Jedi. I release you from your pain," he said in a quiet voice as he stabbed down. His eyes burning bright as he waited to be picked up and begin his plan to recruit a group called death watch, or rather just infiltrating the group to get them off his friend Satine Kryze. He had heard she had been going back and forth from Mandalore to senate sessions on Courscant. He was happy to learn she had become duchess and was a great leader, but soft. Too soft to deal with death watch


	14. The Return

Three months have passed for the Republic, since the return of Anakin Skywalker from being a slave. The Republic was terrified with the lack of the Savior's army. The battles of countless planets have been waged, some victories some Republic seemed to not make the connection of Christen being The Punisher and The Savior.

Anakin let out a deep breath as they entered Coruscant's atmosphere. Landing his fighter quickly, like a blur he got out of his fighter, making the young Togruta chuckle lightly as she did the same, running to catch up to him before she went to the temple. He was like a child getting everything he wanted for his life day. "Is there anything you need me to do master?" She asked. "Your free to do whatever you want snips" he replied with a half-grin. Ahsoka stared at him. "Really?" She asked with joy. "Just until you get back to the apartment to change into your civilian attire. It would look quite strange to everyone who'll see you dressed in civilian clothes, but with your chest armor on," he commented.

Sighing, the young Togruta spoke up loudly. "I have to speak with Kanan, I will talk to you later skyguy" she told him. Anakin nodded before heading towards his apartment, he shares with Padmé, to change out of his Jedi clothes and into some actual normal fitting clothes. Walking to the senate building, He walked in wearing his citizen clothes, but had on his cloak to hide his face so no one would notice him. Making his way through the halls, he smiled when he saw Padmé walking the opposite direction.

Glancing around, he made his way toward her office, smiling as Dormé opened the doors for him. "She'll be in momentarily," she told him. "Alright, make sure no one comes once she's in here," he instructed the handmaiden. She nodded with a smile and sat back down while Anakin pushed the security camera away before removing his hood. Once the doors closed, Anakin stood in a corner waiting for his wife to come in.

Padmé sighed as she glanced at Dormé. "Did those reports come in yet? Did Christen or Abigail come yet?" she asked. She was worried about the growing tension between the couple. "Yep, everything you've been waiting for is in your office, but there has been nothing from both of them so far," Dormé replied. "Tell everyone who calls in that I'm going to be too busy to take any calls or go to any meetings," Padmé informed her friend. She had been very busy since Christen had left her and Abigail. She was very empatheticto her friends hen she found out what happened and heard a part of the couple fight. She saw Christen take off with all his things, leaving his pregnant wife crying in her home. She thought it best not to mention seeing him throw that prince off the ledge like a ragdoll.

"Already done milady," Dormé replied. Nodding, the young senator went into her office, sighing as she put her datapad down on the desk. Turning around, she let out a gasp to see someone standing in the corner. Realizing who it was, she couldn't help but let a smile appear on her face as she hurried over to her husband, hugging him tight. Smiling, Anakin lifted her up off the floor, swinging her around once. Setting her back down on the floor, he placed his hands on her waist, kissing her gently. "You're home," she said happily, hugging him tight once their kiss broke. She wanted to keep Christens actions a secret until she felt ready. "I'm home," he answered, hugging her back. He buried his face into her neck, closing his eyes. "I've missed you so much," he told her.

"I missed you," she answered with tears in her eyes. She remembered when he contacted her, saying that in the underworld there was mass killings and signs of infiltration by The Savior's army.

Pulling away again, he kissed her once more while resting his hands on the sides of her neck, tracing her jaw with his thumbs. Their kiss broke again and she smiled at him. "Your hair is getting a little longer," she commented.

"Just a little," he replied with a smile, chuckling. He rested his forehead against hers while moving his hands over her back. "I swear you grow more beautiful every time I see you," he told her softly. She laughed a little, closing her eyes as he brushed his nose over hers. He kissed her tenderly again, nipping at her bottom lip. Anakin moved his hands over her arms, pulling her as close as possible, and began covering her face with kisses. "If I knew you were going to be home, I would've taken the day off," she said between kisses. "Would you now?" he asked with a smile as he began nipping at her neck. "Yes, I would," she replied, letting out a sigh as he continued caressing her neck with kisses. She laughed a little as he nibbled on her shoulder. "Security cameras, Ani," she told him, pulling back. "Security camera won't see us," he answered. "Well, not here," she told him laughing. "Tease," he groaned, "letting me kiss you like that but then you tell me "no"."

Padme was laughing a little when Anakin's comlink went off. He cursed lightly, closing his eyes. "Skywalker," he answered. "Master, I need you here. Obi-Wan just sent a emergency signal we need to help him with a mission," Ahsoka informed her master. "Why? What happened?" he asked. "I dont know but he sounded like he was in trouble ",she replied, she spoke lightly. "Alright, I'm on my way," he said with a sigh. They said their goodbyes before she was left alone once again, but her com beeped. The delegation of 2000 was reminding her she needed to be at a meeting tomorrow night.

On Tython Christen sat in the middle of his training room, before he stood up. He needed to visit Padme, so he grabbed a wooden box he had kept from his years as a slave. He wanted Anakin to look through it.

Padmé was sitting in Organa's office during one of the secret meetings. She kept her hands in her lap when she felt a kick. Surprise filled her instantly as she saw Christen, dressed in his Savior disguise, standing behind her with a hand resting on her shoulder. "Now that he is looking to control of the Jedi Council, the Chancellor has started appointing governors to oversee all star systems and the Republic," Organa was explaining. They all seemed to notice Christens sudden appearance and trusted Padme enough to somehow truth him.

"When did this happen?" Fang Zar asked. "That decree was posted this morning," Organa replied. "Do you think he'll dismantle the senate?" Padmé asked. Mon Mothma looked toward her. "Why bother? As a practical matter the senate will likely no longer exist," she told her friend. Christen could feel his brothers wife's disappointment in the senator's words. "The constitution is in shreds! Amendment after amendment," Giddean Danu put in. "We cannot let a thousand years of democracy disappear…without a fight," Organa insisted.

"What are you suggesting?" Terr Taneel asked. "Suggesting? I apologize, I don't mean to sound like a Separatist," Organa told them. "We are not Separatists trying to leave the Republic. We are loyalists trying to preserve democracy in the Republic," Mon Mothma reassured them. "I can't believe it has come to this. Chancellor Palpatine is one of my oldest advisors, he served as my Ambassador when I was Queen," Padmé answered, horrified that one of her most trusted friends could be betraying them all. "Senator…I fear you underestimate the amount of corruption that has taken hold in the senate," Danu told her. Padmé lowered her head sadly. "The Chancellor has played the Senators well. They know where the power lies and will do whatever it takes to share in it," Mothma put in. "And we cannot continue debating about this any longer," Organa stated as he stood up.

He went to walk away but then stopped and turned around. "We have decided to do what we can to stop it. Senator Mon Mothma and I are putting together an organization…" he started. "Say no more Senator, I understand. At this point some things are better left unsaid," Padmé answered. "Agreed," Organa told her, "and so we will not discuss this with anyone without everyone in this group agreeing." "That mean's those closest to you. Even family," Mon Mothma told them. Mon Mothma looked toward Padmé. "No one can be told," she added. Showing reluctance, Padmé couldn't help but feel grateful that Christen was able to talk her into letting him come to this secret meeting.

"And what of you Savior? Can you be trusted? You have shown no alliance to neither the Separatists or the Republic," Danu pointed out to the vigilante. "I am loyal to Senator Amidala. My loyalty has always lied with her for the last three years," Christen replied. "You seem to be declaring your own war without having to worry about problems to the Republic that you have declared war on," Zar commented.

"Senators, my war lies with slavery and those who support it. I do not trust the Republic, even more now that Chancellor Palpatine has been manipulating the system into his own twisted world," he é cleared her throat. "What The Savior is trying to say is that he wouldn't betray our trust. As long as his loyalty lies with me, our secrets are safe," she put in, not wanting to start a fresh debate. Christen gave her shoulder a squeeze before crossing his arms over his chest. "Until then, this meeting is adjourned," Organa stated, leaving no room for debate.

As he was escorting her back to the speeder, Christen looked down at his quiet friend. "Padmé talk to me," he said softly. "I just can't believe that over a thousand years of peace and freedom is deteriorating right in front of us," she murmured softly. Christen suddenly pulled her aside and hugged her close to him. he whispered, "I'll die first before I let anything happen to either of you." Padmé hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. "Come on, let's get you home," he whispered. Nodding as they went back for the evening.

Christen had dropped her off and she had convinced him he had to stay the night. Padme was cleaning the appartment when she went into the guest room and looked down and noticed a simple brown wooden box. She lifted the lid to open and it revealed a trove or data chips. Confused Padme takes the chips into the living room and takes her datapad out, slipping in the first chip she picked up, labeled "breaking chains." Padme looked as a holovid recording showed up and showed Christen as he sat kneeling in the cold room. Padme thought it looked like he had just woken up. Seven holograms appeared showing his family, who stood there just staring at him. Christen closed his eyes as the voices came. "I HATE YOU." "I'm in love with someone else." "I WISH YOU WERE DEAD." "Why did you leave us daddy?"

Christen closed his eyes, breathing deeply as a tear escaped his eye he then pulled his lightsabers out, lighting up the room in orange as he ignited them. Christan slashed through his family , watching their body's fall apart as the holograms fade away and leave the slavehost body in pieces. Christen fell to his knees as the doors in the front of the room opened. Three huge men entered, looking at Christan they threw a barrage of force lightning at his body, making him scream, but not moving at all. Christan looked up with eyes completely blacked out, as if you were looking into a black hole.

Padme gasped with tears springing in her eyes as the holovid ended. As she took it out she picked up another , labeled "experiments 1-256" slidding it in, another holovid showed up, the room seemed to be a medical facility. She could see Christen was laying strapped to the metal table with three droids moving towrds Christen. She was not ready for what was going to happen, but she watched all night. When she got to experiment 234, she looked away as she saw droids working on Christen while he was fully awake. Padme watched as these droids litterly ripped Christen apart, cutting into the bones and his skull, all she could do is cry watching as he thrashed around the table against the straps. The sounds of bones being torn from the body made it unbearable to listen to his screams anymore. Something inside her told her to continue, so she took out the chip and picked out a new one. This one looked really new, it was labeled "last day". Padme was confused as she put the chip in; the holovid showed Christen walking in through a pair of large wooden doors into a room that had thirteen men and women standing in cloaks. Christen stepped in the middle of the room into a large symbol.

"You have done well apprentice, but we have no need for you" the tallest man with a hidden face said. Suddenly lightning sparked from all thirteen masters into Christens body. Padme stood there crying in shock. She could hear his screaming as the room was filled with a flurry of lighting striking Christen. Padme saw him slowly stand up as his skin was burning and melting. He had stopped screaming and closed his eyes, taking on the full blast of lightning. Padme noticed his hands were sparking the same lava color she was used to seeing and his eyes turned into the ones he had now. Christen brought his arms around him, orange lighting came from everywhere and when he opened his arms lighting struck everything as a lava orange blast destroyed everything. The masters had been the first to die. Padme saw the camera view change from inside the room to the outside atmosphere of the planet and could see a bright orange explosion. She sat in awe as the blast covered the whole planet.

The camera switched to a knocked down camera inside of the temple, where Padme could see nothing but fire and smoke. She heard the moans of someone and quickly brought her hand to her mouth to keep from screaming. In front of the camera was Christens upper body without his arms and up to his ribs everything was gone. Padme looked harder and saw a blinding lava light radiating from the wounds. She watched as Christen suddenly opened his bleeding eyes while crying out in pain. Padme watched as the same lava light drew in his arms and other scraps of his body back to him. He screams more as the parts of his arms and torso reconnected with his body leaving a lava light scar in the shape of lighting. Padme was crying quietly. They were the same as when she saw him the night he left Abigail.

"What are you looking at Padme?" Christen. Padme screamed as she turned to see him standing in the doorway with a sad expression. "Oh, Christen I was just cleaning the place when I found this a..." Padme tried to explain, but he cut off. "Stop lying Padme" Christen said moving closer to her, making her uncomfortable and afraid. "Ok, I found this box and a bag of data chips and I was looking through them," Padme said unsure on what Christens reaction would be.

"What have you seen so far? I'm guessing you have some questions," Christan said quietly as he turned to sit on the sofa. "Christen... I don't know what to say, what happened? How did that happen? What's going on Christen?" She asked with moist eyes. He sighed, as he started taking off his armor. Much to the surprise of Padme, Christen got out of his clothes. He was just in his armored pants. Padme looked at him in shock, clearly noticing the same lava colored scars from the holovid. They covered his body, glowing and radiating a warm heat. Padme stepped closer to Christen, reaching out touching his arm on the scar that ran across his forearm and bicep. Padme wept as she went up and down the length of his scars.

"How did this eve..." trailing off in confusion Padme looked up at Christen and he replied "It's what I deserve Padme." "Why haven't you told anyone about this" Padme asked worriedly. "Abigail knows, and now you do, that's all who knows" he confirmed, making Padme sigh sadly as she embraced him. Feeling the warmth of his body, Padme felt like she was hugging a hot rock. "Padme" Christen said pulling away from her, "can I trust you to not tell anyone," he asked. "What other secrets are you keeping from me Christen?" she asked. He put his head in his hands and sighs loudly.

"Fine I'll tell you everything..." Christan paused "I have been the leader of my own army and government for the last 2 years, the army as you know is the savior's army itss about the same size as the separatists army. I'm a monster padme, you don't know the amount of people I've killed" Christan stood up walking away before turning to look into her eyes "I've killed children, men, women hundreds of thousands have fallen by my blade and millions more killed by my orders" Christan sighed as tears dropped from his right eye

"Padme I can't be a hero. I can't be the good guy if I'm going to save this galaxy." Padme looked at Christen with tears in her eyes and replied," Christen we can help you. I've have always been here for you" she pleaded with him. As Christen tried to turn away towards the door, Padme grabbed his arm and hugged his bare chest crying. Christan gulped down a sob, then pushed her softly away and looked her in the eyes. "Padme, if there's one thing I've learned it's that..., pausing he breathed in," it's hard for a good man, to be king." Christen quietly shut the apartment door with Padme collapsing to the floor in tears. She continued to watch the data chips.


	15. The Underlining

20 BBY

Six Months had passed since Christen had dealt with the galaxies problems. He had been busy on Tython. He stayed away mostly because of the rumors of his wife, he had heard she had given birth to their eighth child, a son. He found out from his children who had decided to live with Abigail.

Night in Tython's Jedaii temple was quiet. Most of its residents sought meditation and sleep as the restorative path to the Force. Others were not so easily lulled.

In a darkened training hall, lit only by the lava fire of four lightsaber blades. Christen practiced the movements of Soresu that he had mastered a year into his slave training. Each step was a fluid parry, with every movement further opening the link between the Force and Christen. It reached into him, granting energy, direction, and purpose. As he flowed through defense after defense, the light illuminated the path of time from the here and now to a when that hadn't happened... yet. Blurred lines of light and dark called to him, and Christen felt the Force pour sight and hearing over his mind. A cave closed over his vision. Its walls were jagged rocks marred by fire and the smell of blood and sweat filled his nostrils. From the other side of that jagged wall the screams of the dying, the battle cries of the living, and the roar of turbolasers all fought for supremacy. The last thing was a distant memory of killing his family in this slavery.

In a blink Christen snapped back to the present. The ghost wind of the Force's warning continued to blow sleeping minds into unsettled alertness. "Master?", a boy's voice asked. Christen turned to find a youngling, not much older then then his youngest daughter Lucy, he was standing in the narrow halls of his training facility. His green eyes reflected the Lava light of Christen 's blade. With a flick Christen switched off his saber and a deft touch of the force activated the hall's lighting.

The boy's eyes were wide in fear as he gazed around. As he turned back to Christen he said," I had a bad dream, Master, there was a black clad figure and" "I know young Jedaii, but do not worry it is a far time into the future you were seeing," Christen replied.

"You saw him too master?", the boy asked in a sad chilling voice, that reminded him of his youngest daughter Lucy. His answer was just silence between them. "Are you leaving master?" The youngling asked. Christen looked up at the ceiling and his brow furrowed in concentration. When he looked back at the child he replied," Yes my old friend is in need of help, but don't worry, I'll make sure you and the others stay safe." "You promise?" "Promise.",Christen vowed. "So wha?"

"Now you get out of here and check up of the Zillo, then I want you to go back to sleep." "Right now, Master? Why?" The child asked without an answer.

As Christen herded the boy out of the training hall the roar of the beast blasted its searing sound. "Any other questions?" Christen dryly asked. The beast had been having a hard time getting settled into its new home. Yes, grandmaster, we have been advised by a couple of smugglers on Tatooine that they have seen slaves more and more over the last few months and they seem to be..." the youngling paused. "Force sensitive," and with that the youngling left in silence.

TWO DAYS LATER

Christen landed his Phantom Fox outside Mos Eiesly on Tattoine. When he arrived he looked at the radar and realized he had about one and a half weeks to begin the moIt. That should be enough time so they didn't get shot down the moment they left their ships. It was going to be a close call so he had to send his family ahead while he went to mutilate a couple of suspicious looking guys waiting for them in a dark alley.

"Tell your friends this", he growled, choking the life out of the last man standing from a group of five with his bare hands, "Jabba couldn't stop me with his whole army. If any of you try to attack me or my family again, there is not a single place in the galaxy where I won't find you." "You-You're a dead man", the thug gasped. "You and your family. The Hutt's already sent someone else to take Jabba's place. They're after you!" He grabbed his left arm and ripped it off and blood shot out of the wound. The man tried to scream, but only met the glove of Christen.

Where?", was all he asked. "What?" He whispered as he was losing blood fast

"The new Hutt. Where is he?" "Y-You're crazy! You can't take them on!" "Tattoine is my planet from now on. I have killed creatures that are a hundred times bigger, I will be the highest authority here. The Hutts will bow for me or I will exterminate them!" He meant it even if his conquest plan had to wait until the republic fell. The man stared at him in shock. "Who... Who are you?"

He regarded the quivering man with melting, lava eyes. "I am the famous Tatooine gladiator, the infamous Lord Savior." he said as he grabbed the man by the throat, the man weezed as his lungs were filling with blood. But Christen was going to give this man anything but mercy, as he closed his fist with all his strength, his fingers and hand broke the skin almost instantaneously. Blood was dripping down as he ripped the man's throat out, leaving him with just his spine. Christen put his mask on as he looked over his shoulder at a few bystanders who were in shock. He left as he heard them struggling to raid the smugglers home. He needed to find the hidden temple, that sat underneath Jabbas palace. It was a palace or more like a temple of the force, he knew there to be a sith creature that should have only been on Korribon. The temple was said to be made thousands of years ago when his order ruled the galaxy.

DAYS LATER ACROSS THE GALAXY ON CORUSCANT

Padmé was walking down the hall wearing one of her usual gorgeous Senatorial gowns. It was a dark purple with black trimming around her collar, sleeves, and hem. Around her waist was a black belt with the Naboo crest on the front. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun with a head dress that had dark purple beads flowing around her head and the Naboo crest hung above her brow. Letting out a deep breath she looked over at Typho. "Are you ready milady?" he asked. "As ready as I'll ever be, Captain," she answered.

Placing her hand on her stomach briefly, she lifted her head high as usual as she entered her seat. "The chair recognizes Senator Amidala, you have told us you have a Bill you would like to propose?" Palpatine asked. "Yes Chancellor. Over thirteen years ago when I had gone into hiding as Queen, I had landed on the remote planet of Tatooine. While I was there, I had come across a slave boy and his mother. It surprised and horrified me that there was still slavery in the galaxy. While we are here worrying about our own supplies to get to our own planets, we still have our freedom," she explained.

She heard the shouts of good and bad thrown at her. "Order, we will have order," Mas Amedda called out. Padmé cleared her throat. "While we still have our freedom, there are hundreds of thousands of people who have no freedom at all. Children are being torn from their parents, never to see them again. The few lucky children who are able to stay with families are being negotiated for prices like we negotiate for food and supplies for our people. It was only because of the reckless actions of the Lord Savior who tricked me into believing he had my best interest that the we still have Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker with us today. He is the only reason that their slave empire has fallen. But even then it is still at large," she explained.

Padmé glanced around at all the arguing senators in the room. "I am proposing the Republic finally does something and step in for the planets that we haven't gone before. We must abolish slavery, it is cruel to buy and use people like they are property. We are not property, it must be stopped," she concluded. Through her whole speech, all Padmé could do was think about Anakin and Shmi. How their living conditions were, how Anakin described Gardulla the Hutt. How christens body looked while he told her what happened to him during his alive years, how Anakin told her about how he found out Christen had to fight rancors to keep them alive.

"Senator Amidala as noble your actions are, I do believe you have too much of a personal attachment to this certain situation," Palpatine informed the young woman.

Padmé was silent. "I have to apologize Senator, but a simple abolish bill isn't as important as the situation of the war is for now. Your request for your bill to be put into vote is denied," Palpatine informed. The young woman felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach before the Chancellor went to the next proposal. Sitting down, she suddenly felt like she had failed her husband. For the last four years she was working on this bill only to have it rejected. She lowered her head dejectedly with a sad sigh.

On Tatooine, Christen was walking through Mos Espa to talk to Watto about a part for his broken down speeder when he heard a child crying out in pain. "Stoopa pidunki!" someone snarled in Huttese. (Stupid boy!) Turning around, Christen saw a boy get thrown to the dirt, obviously trying to back away from his owner's next blow. "Dampa nay kanuta!" he snapped again, kicking the boy. (Waste of money!) "Don't!" the boy exclaimed, curling up further.

Seeing the terrified look in the child's eyes and the fact no one was helping made Christen's blood boil. Walking up behind the slave owner, he grabbed the creature around the throat, yanking it back. "Ripu ya pidunki enki," he hissed. (Leave the boy be.) "Ma shag! Uva Riu!" the slave owner snapped. (My slave! You leave!)

Christen pulled out one of his lightsabers igniting it. "Ya pidunki na kispa," he hissed before stabbing the blade through the slave owner. (The boy is free.) Walking over to the injured boy, Christen easily lifted him up and carried him away. Walking to his newly mounted hovel that was miles outside of the city. The whole time they rode on his speeder, the boy was quite, even though he eyes told the truth, he was scared and did not trust him yet, he placed the boy down. "Alright, let's have a look," he commented. "Go away!" the boy snapped, pushing him back.

Shaking his head slowly, Christen stood up as he went into the fresher and brought out some crampter. "I'm here to help, not to hurt, if I had wanted, you would be dead with your master," he assured the boy. The boy looked at him curiously.

"Why?" he asked. "I was once a slave here as well, I've gotten plenty of beatings in my time," he commented as he placed bacta on the cut on the boy's chin, "yea that might scar a little." The boy stared at the color of Christen's eyes, all the way down to his scaled armor. "What's your name?" Christen asked. "Han," the boy replied, "Han Solo."

"Well Han, my name is Christen, from now on you have nothing to worry about. Do you have any idea where your parents are?" he asked. Han shook his head slowly. "I haven't seen them since I was sold to that human size slug," he replied, making Christen chuckle. "Well, how about you come to Couscaunt and then Tython with me?" he asked. Han raised his eyebrow. "What's the catch? And what's Tython?" he asked. He forgot nobody living in the galaxy knew about the planet. "No catch," Christen replied.

The boy stared at him curiously. "Sure…I'd like to get off this dust ball," he answered, making Christen laugh a little more. "Yeah, I was never so fond of this planet either, but I had family here. That's the only reason why I come back," he commented. The boy just stared at him quizzically. "How did you get freed from slavery then?" he asked curiously. "Long story, come on, you should rest. You've had a rough day," he commented.

Han let out a sigh, but nodded his head slowly. Christen had the boy sleep in his old room and sat down to watch the Holonet. "Today during the Senate meeting. Senator Amidala made a motion for slavery to be abolished on planets where the Republic doesn't exist," the reporter explained, making Christen's heart sink. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Blast the Senate, blast the Republic!" he hissed angrily as orange lightning burst from his hands scorching the walls. Standing up, Christen let out a frustrated breath before he stormed to his ship outside.

Pulling on his armor, Christen walked over to 22, who was checking the ship for any sort of damages. "22, I need you to connect me to the Holonet," he told the droid.

"Beep, blip, beep whorl," 22 answered. "Just do it 22," he ordered the droid. 22 let out another series of beeps before he did what Christen had asked him. When he knew he hacked into the Holonet's system, he stood straight with his shoulders squared. "Good evening everyone, if you are unsure of who I am. I am the Savior, the rogue, and I've also hidden under the name ,The Punisher. Even the senator of Naboo had no clue. I'm sure you have heard about me over the last year," he spoke. Christen stood there in his full armor, mask and all making sure no one could ever recognize him. "I have heard of my former friend Senator Amidala's noble request for abolishing slavery, something only someone with such courage and bravery to even think about others. It disgusts me that the Senate denied such a motion, something that could show that the Republic cares for more than just their own planets, but wanting to help the planets that are practically begging for the help," he informed everyone who was watching.

Christen closed his orange eyes for a second to keep his anger back. "I am disgusted with the Republic as I always am, just as I have been disgusted with the Separatists. I hold no alliance to either side, for I do what I believe is right by others and myself. As of this day, I am declaring war on slavery and all those who either support it or choose not to help abolish it, you have made a dire mistake" he explained. After making his declaration, he had BB cut the transmission before removing his helmet. Sitting down, he closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. He and Han set out to Coruscant .

Back on Coruscant, Padmé and Anakin were standing in their apartment with wide eyes, having seen Christen's broadcast. He had been back for only a few days after his last encounter with his newly found brother. Padme let out a gasp as she placed her hand over her stomach and slowly sat down in disbelief.

"Padme, are you alright?" Anakin asked. "I'm fine Ani," she answered softly as she stared at the now blank screen, "I'd just like to be with you and forget about Christen, but I just can't, I just cant anymore." She cried "Yes,milady ," he answered "Ani?" she whispered . "I'm here Padmé," he told her softly. Rubbing her forehead, she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "Why? It was nothing you did," he answered. "I failed to fight harder to pass the Bill and I failed Christen and I failed you," she told him."You did your part, even though you didn't have to do it. You really didn't have to even create it," he answered. He needed to contact his brother. "I wanted to, after hearing what you, Christen and your mother went through, I felt that something should've been done," she said softly.

She heard him sigh on his end. "Padmé, you did nothing wrong. It was the Republic, it was always the Republic. They have done nothing to help us." he answered. Forcing the tears from her eyes, she let out a deep breath, but he could feel her sniffling. "Padmé, don't cry Angel. Everything will be alright," he assured her.

"I know, I know it will be," she answered. Padmé smiled a little. "I have to go now, Padmé. I'll see you soon," he told her. "I'll see you soon. I love you," she said softly.

"I love you," he answered before he walked out the apartment door.

Hours later at level 1313

In the underground of Coruscant

Christen looked up when his underground shop door opened and Han walked in carrying a medium sized bag. "Well, there's my co-pilot," he commented standing up.

"Hi, Christian, Hi 22" Han greeted. "How are you?" Christan asked smiling. "Eh same old, same old," he replied, plopping down on the sofa. Christen stared at the boy curiously. "You're back kind of late," he commented. "Yeah well, had a few things to do," Han replied.

Christen saw the bag sitting by Han's feet. Before the boy could react, the bag flew into his hands and he opened it to find a large stash of food. "Han, what are you doing? We have plenty of food here," he commented with a sigh. "I didn't steal that," Han answered standing up. "No?" Christen asked suspiciously..

He walked over to the table and dumped everything out to find credits, magazines and games sitting out on the table. "I know I didn't get these things for you, unless this is all on the little allowance the smuggler gave you yesterday," Christen commented. "You're not my dad so why do you care?" Han demanded as he got up and grabbed his things off the table. "No, but I'm all you have," Christen answered, "if I didn't care I wouldn't have protected you from that sleemo on Tatooine." "I wish you did leave me on that dust ball," Han muttered. "I don't believe you really think that," Christen answered.

Han turned around glaring at him. "Leave me alone! You're not my dad so stop trying to act like you are!" he snapped before he threw the stuff back on the table, storming to his room. Shaking his head slowly, Christen stared at all the stolen merchandise on the table. He looked over to see his droid standing there. "Well that went well," he muttered.

The force spoke to Christen 'He's ten and has been alone for a long time, trying to survive on his own. Put yourself back in your childhood shoes, you were separated from your mom when you were a little older than him." "Well then what am I supposed to do, just let him off?" he thought. "No, but be patient with him and treat him like your own son," the force whispered "I do miss my kids and being a dad," he muttered with a sigh. The force laughed a little. "Just don't give up, that's the last thing this boy wants and needs," it told him softly. Sighing, Christen stood up and went to talk to Han.

Making his way into the boy's room, he found Han just lying back on the bed with a blaster in his hand. "Now where did you get that?" Christen asked. "I found it," Han replied, putting the weapon down next to him. Christen shook his head slowly. "Oh boy Han, I can see that you're not adjusting well to the new changes in your life," he commented. "Don't use your hokey Force talk on me," Han answered, "not as good as having a good blaster next to you." "And you know how to use that?" Christen asked. "Sure do," Han replied.

Christen shook his head slowly, before grabbing the weapon. "Hey!" Han exclaimed jumping up. "This is far from a toy, Han," he commented. "Tell me something I don't know Captain Obvious," Han answered as he tried to yank the blaster from his hand. Christen kept a grip on it, making sure to flip the safety on so the kid didn't accidentally shoot him with it. "Give it back!" Han exclaimed. "I'll give it back, when you're older and actually know how to shoot with it," Christen answered as he stuck the blaster into his utility belt. "Stop talking to me like you're my dad!" Han snapped. "Well I'm the only father figure you have in your life and really I think you need one. You have a lot of potential, Han. I can see that you could be something great if you would just learn how to direct that anger and frustration into something useful," Christian answered.

Han let out a frustrated sigh. "Han, I'm sorry that you were separated from your parents. That is something I'm trying to prevent from happening to other families," he informed the boy. "Don't give me pity, Christen. I don't want it," the boy answered with a slight glare.

Christen shook his head slowly. "Well, I could use your help. I'd like to have my co-pilot to be ready to go to Tython for the Saviors Security Force Academy," he suggested with a grin. Han looked at him surprised. "What?" he asked. "I think this little trip will help you focus more on a brighter future instead of one of crime," Christen replied. The boy stared with wide eyes. "Wow…I'm gonna be part of the Savior's army..." he trailed off when he got up.

"First thing's first, before I go to talk to the person who is head of the Academy," he stated. "What?" Han asked. Christen grinned as he grabbed the boy by his arm and grabbed his refilled backpack. "Return all this," he told him, handing him the bag.


	16. Saving a Friend

It was the earlier hours of the evening when Anakin Skywalker returned. He sighed because he had been enjoying some real downtime since his return from battle . He was sitting on the couch in the living room of their apartment reading over a datapad when Padmé walked in, returning from another meeting with the Senate. "How did it go today?" he asked, standing up. "The same, the Chancellor refuses to find a diplomatic solution to the war while Christen or rather The Savior is on the run since threatening the Republic," she replied. She was actually amused at the Republic for not figuring out they were the same  
person.

She shook her head slowly. "Well, what about this Delegation of 2000?" he asked, standing up, surprising his wife. "What?" she asked. He held up the datapad in his hand. "I guess before Christen sent that holo to the galaxy he came here and dropped this in my room at the temple," he told her, placing it back on the table.  
"Why are you reading over my things?" she demanded. "I thought it was one of mine to be honest," he replied. The Senator let out a sigh. "It's supposed to be a secret," she said softly. "And why are you keeping secrets from me?" he asked. "We just want to be sure no one finds out about this," she replied.  
She let out a sigh as her husband rested his hands on her disappearing waist. "Padmé, you don't want me keeping secrets from you no matter what. I hope you can trust me with situations like this," he said softly. "Of course I trust you," she answered.  
"So what's the Delegation of 2000?" he asked. "We're petitioning for the Chancellor to give up his Emergency Powers and to find a diplomatic solution to this war," she replied. "Oh," he commented. "Yeah," she answered awkwardly as she knew the chancellor was like a father to Anakin  
"I saw Abigail earlier today with her new born," she commented sadly as she removed her cloak from her shoulders. "While I wasn't here?" he asked curiously as he followed her to their bedroom. "Yes, she wanted to ask me something," she replied as she hung her cloak up. Anakin leaned against the doorframe. "Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned for his brother. "She's broken Anakin, she knows she made a mistake, but...," she replied as she walked out onto the terrace and sat down. She smiled gently as her husband sat down beside her. "What? Well she did cheat on Christen, is she still with the guy?" he asked curiously. "No as you know, Christen killed him, it's just some lowlife prince from her home planet" she replied, making him sigh. "She's Confused about what she feels about him or confused about what he feels for her?" he asked. Not believing what he was saying "The latter," she replied.  
Sitting back, Anakin rested his hand on her stomach, feeling another kick. "Well look at the last time Christen ever had a good emotion since we met him and so far it's been deteriorating rapidly ," he pointed out. "That's what I told her. I know Christen cares for her as much as she cares for him, if not more," she replied.  
"I believe that too. I also believe she's a little…too caught up in her own mistakes than she'll admit, because she abandoned her lover, or so that's how she feels," he replied. Padmé held her husband's hand. "I don't know where I would be without you," he said softly. "You'll never have to think about it," she answered. Hating herself for keeping Christen's files from Anakin. Smiling, he gripped her hand a little more

ACROSS THE GALAXY

The Phantom Fox landed at the main temple hanger while security droids stand guard and troopers and force wielders of the alpha legion, stood waiting for Christen who took his time exiting. Christen exited the ship and walked past his guards. "Greetings My lord, I see that you had a safe arrival without any troubles," asked the HK-47 Assassin Droid. He acts like a leader to the other droids; due to the the fact it is immune to lightsaber strikes after Christen had it rebuilt with force imbued Mandalorian steel so it is better with the gun and vibrosword than the other droids.  
"Any reports about the Republic or the Separatist?" Christen asked the assassin droid."Same as usual, My lord. They've been fighting each other while we keep growing." The droid answered. "Send some of Alpha squadron and a Team from squad six to Mandalore to get every information in that planet as well as rally some supporters in our cause. Tell them to wait my commend while they're there." Christen commanded. "Of course, I will send some troops at once, My lord" The droid replied before running off.  
The Saviors army have been dedicating themselves to follow Je'daii teachings. Light or Dark side of the force doesn't matter, nor does status or species matter in his Order. Their only believe that one should rely on both the dark and light side of the force. "Lord Skywalker? Why just Mandalore? Can't we just promote our military throughout the galaxy?" one of the officers ask. "There is a struggle in Mandalore between two sides. One side supports war while the other supports peace. Besides, it's not just the people I'm after but the weapons stored there. I'm not willing to risk the Jedi Order to know of this army's full existence before the time is right. We must stay low and hidden while my fleet is the face of the military." Christen replied as he made his way to the force training room where the few advanced students trained.

Christen remembers being forced to study about how Revan was going to change the galaxy but was stopped when the Sith Empire and the Republic joined forces against him. "Great to see your arrival, Grand Master Skywalker. We've been expecting you." The trainer, his eldest daughter Amber, bowed along with the other older younglings. "As am I, I've been watching how you teach these students. Very good, they look and feel promising for their missions soon." Christen look around and saw that the students, aged 9 through 14, look ready to take up any mission that were assigned to them.  
"It's an honor to serve, Grand Master," Amber replied. "Keep up the good work." Christen left the training room and went to the throne room. His navy of capital ships are quickly producing and his vehicles are being built. He decided that his war with both the Republic and Separatist will be kept in secret. Even to his own. He walked to his own chambers as he began meditation. He let his shields down as his force presence burst throughout the galaxy, hitting each force sensitive like a wampa. He knew the Jedi order would sense him, but when he is not holding back one can't help but sense his presence.

 **Coruscant, Jedi Order**

"I sense a disturbance in the force." Yoda said in the Jedi Chambers as he felt an unknown presence in the galaxy. "I sense it too but it is unknown to me. I also sense corruption in Mandalore," replied Mace Windu who spoke for everyone who was sensing the same disturbance. "What could it be? It felt so strange. What should we do?" Obi-wan ask the council. "Go to Mandalore, you must. Protect the Duchess." Yoda replied, sensing that the Duchess's life will be in danger. Obi-wan stood up and nodded before exiting the room.

Three days later Obi Wan Kenobi has been captured by death watch. Christen felt this, ending his prolonged meditation.

MANDALORE

"Here to do more of your masters bidding?" Satine said emotionless. Christens heart tears open knowing he can't help her. Counting on Obi-Wan to take care of her. Watching closely from the air duct above the room. "I do my own biddings." Obi-wan spoke through the Mandalorion helmet. "Obi wan?" Satine gasped and quickly turned around and jumped into his arms. He smiled for a moment from the warmth he felt. Obi-wan softly pushed her away and let his hand rest on her shoulder. "Are you alone?" He asked softly. Obi-wan quickly told her what was going on and looked around the corner. Then he took her hand. "I trust you have an escape plan?" She asked in the voice both Obi-Wan and Christen remember. "As always, my dear." Obi-Wan replied kissing her hand.

Christan got ready to move. Crawling down into the throne room waiting for his chance to attack, knowing they would be captured. The doors of the elevator opened as a Death Watch warrior looked at the lovers. Obi-wan grabbed Satines arm and pushed her into the elevator. The warrior started to ask "What is the code?" Obi-Wan stood nervously, and suddenly hit him in the head. Christen knew he was sorry, because Satine strongly disliked violence, but there was hardly any choice for Obi Wan. Christen was violent because... well he just was that way, he was a monster.  
She didn't say anything. They walked to a speeder and sat down. As he felt her hands at his hips he felt again a lot of warm… love. It was a great feeling. The red Death Watch followed them and as they got to his ship (okay, Anakin's ship), they shot. Obi-wan also carried a blaster and shot back. Running into the cockpit he activated the cannonry and started the ship. He was too slow. The ship got hit by two rockets. "We must get out of here!" He screamed. Satine nodded. They ran to the ramp and suddenly Obi-wan flew out of the ship. Quickly grabbing the ramp. hearing Satine was crying his name and then she also flew out of the ship.  
Grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. Obi-wan looked back and decided it was the best to let go.  
Falling down. rolling a few times until stopping and then looking up quick enough to see that something heavy was flying at Satine. Obi-wan breathed deeply once he pushed it away with the force. He felt a presence. He looked up and spotted Darth Maul. Before he could get up and activate his lightsaber Darth Maul pulled him forwards to his knees, choking him with the force. Obi-wan was dizzy and didn't understand everything that was said, but he heard something like "Welcome to my Home".  
Christen sat there on the side of the building right above the throne rooms glass walls, looking at his device which was transmitting a signal. Relishing that the death watcher has entered the room with Obi-Wan and Satine dragging behind them. Christen saw Satines face and right then Christen would have killed everyone on Mandalore, if it wasn't for Satines distaste for violence. Obi-wan stood there in front of the throne with two guards at his side. Maul sat on the throne. "If I'm honest it looked dark and awful because of him" Christen thought. Satine kneeled next to him and looked at Obi-Wan with a sad look. He realized she had given up.  
"Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you and your duchess." He lifted Satine off the ground and force choked her. He wanted to get to her, but it was not time. Obi-Wan tried to lunge forward, only to have the guards grab his shoulders and pull him back. "Your emotions betray you. Your fear and yes, your anger. Let your anger deepen, your hatred!" Maul growled in his deep, awful voice. Obi-wan closed his eyes and breathed heavy. Christen could easily hear the thoughts in Obi-Wan's head. Peace over anger. Honor over hate. Strength over fear.  
"Don't listen to him, Obi!" Satine gasped. "You can kill me, but you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it."  
Maul glared at him. "It is more powerful than you know!" How stupid these men are Christen thought slapping his helmet. "And those who oppose it are stronger than you'll ever be. I know where you're from. I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. The nightsisters made it for you-" "SILENCE!" Maul screamed. Obi-wan closed his mouth. "You think you know me?! It was I who languished for years thinking of nothing but you!" "Nothing but that moment!"

He pointed at Satine and the fear crashed into his mind like an ocean wave.  
"And now the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi!" Obi-wan's eyes grew wide as Maul activated the darksaber. Christen knew this was the time. Everything was in slow motion as Christen watched Maul slowly pull Satine towards him with the force. Christens body smashes through the glass, flipping through the air, pulling out his lightsabers igniting both sides of the blades. Simultaneously blocking shots fired from death watchers, as well as the darksaber. He disarmed Maul, cutting through his forearm with the sound of energy cutting through flesh. Obi- wan was busy catching the falling Satine as Maul had lost concentration.  
Satine breathed heavily as everything happened so fast. Turning to Christen she asked, "Who are you?" Christen was confused and then remembered he had his mask on. Obi-Wan was was staring at Christen as if he were a beast. He looked around in confusion and noticed he looked bodies everywhere. He had lost focus on his emotions killing everyone in the room, leaving just the three of them .

Before averting his eyes he saw the fleeing figure of Maul disappear behind a corner. Stunned at the turn of events, the death watcher team ran inside and began shooting at Christen. He deflected every blast back into the enemy, killing them within seconds. Looking back to crouching figures of Satine and Obi-Wan he ordered,  
"Let's go, we don't have much time." Fortunately, they didn't question him and quickly followed him to the hidden exit that Christen and Satine used as kids. Turning to the spot where the door would open he heard a gasp behind him and quickly turne to see Satine staring at him with wide eyes. " Christen? Is that you?" she asked. Seconds of silence followed before he answered  
" We don't have time for greetings and stupid emotions Duchess. We need to leave," stating flatly. Satine flinched in rejection and hurt. Turning to the open doorway, Christen ran pulling both Satine and Obi-Wan with him. The whole time they made there way through the tunnel, nothing was said, nobody spoke as they finally reached the end.  
Christen could see the outline of his ship, Hearing the waterfall Christen quickly walked to the ship, opening the ramp, he turned to his friends and saw their faces had the same look of amazement at his ship. " So What! I got a new ship, could you stop with that fucking look! Lets go, within 2 minutes there's gonna be death watcher on our ass and my men will shoot you along with them," he roared. That got their attention and they quickly hurried into the ship. Christen closed the ramp with a sigh and walked up to the cockpit when he noticed they had already found the controls. Obi-Wan was standing over the controls about to preempt the button to fire the front blaster. Christen used the force to softly crush the Jedi's hand, which caused him to scream. Satine immediately came in spotting Christen standing over the controls while Obi-Wan was holding his hand internally.  
"This is my ship Obi-wan, remember that next time." Christen said with a grin. Satine screamed, " I don't know who you are but you can't just go hurting people." She was looking at his mask with the same intensity he remembered as a teenager. Laughing, Christen ignored her as he lifted the ship into the planets lower atmosphere. Reaching the end of the atmosphere of Mandalore, Christen activated the hyperdrive as the ship lurched forward into hyperspace towards Tython. Turning to see that Satine was still sitting in one of the two the co pilot seats . She lifted her head to look at him only seeing the metal mask of his armor. " How did you know of that passage? Could you please take off your mask so I can see who you are? It's the least I deserve," she spoke in her political voice. Looking back towards the hallway leading to the kitchen, Christen could see the figure of Obi-Wan standing against the wall. "Go on oh mighty Savior" he spat, probably pissed about his hand.  
"Fuck off Obi-Wan, I will easily crush your skull just like your hand!" Christen snapped. Obi-Wan flinched.  
Obi-wan spoke first. "Christen what is the meaning of this ?" He asked with vengeance in his shouted at him next " Don't yell at him Obi-Wan, how did you get here?" she tried to continue speaking but couldn't as Christen held his hand up, using the force to momentarily freeze both of them. "Obi-Wan I'm sorry for the intrusion but I am not here for you. I am here for her" he said pointing towards Satine, who stood in shock, her mind was racing. Both of them had their eyebrows up in confusion. Obi-wan spoke gently, " The council knows who you are, I didn't tell them. They figured it out when you captured Zillo beast." Christen was silent as the Jedi continued . " I didn't know Satine, let alone Mandalore was an asset to your Saviors Army?" he questioned. Satine's eyes shot up at soon as she heard his name again. As she slowly walked towards him,  
"Christen, is that... ? She asked in the voice she always talked to him when they were teenagers. He moved his hands up, making her flinch, so he paused before tearing off his mask to reveal his face and his eyes burning bright like they always have. Satine gasped at his face, he tried to keep a straight face. "Yes Satine, its me" he confirmed. Obi-Wan was greatly confused, as he did not know they knew each other. "But last time I saw you, you left with Abigail and then she called me crying that you were captured" she said with a soft crying voice. He could see tears starting to form.  
"Satine please just let me explain. He looked from the Jedi to Satine who had said nothing. Taking that as a yes for him to explain. "I'm guessing you're not gonna leave Jedi?" He asked viciously. Satine turned to the Obi-Wan and whispered into his ear, but Christen has good hearing. "Obi can we have some privacy, please just for a few minutes" she whispered. He looked shocked but he quickly recovered, then nodded, passing Christen without taking his eyes off him until he was out the room.  
"Satine I'm sor..." he didn't even finish as she bear hugged him, or at least she tried. He was shocked at her change of emotion, as she nearly knocked him over. She quickly let go, but kept her hands on his chest plate. She looked up at him with puppy eyes.  
"Where did you get this armor, its made from mand..." he cut her off as he finished the sentence. "Mandalorion iron, you are sort of right, this is a metal I made myself, this is just my light armor" he grinned. She slapped as hard as she could across the face. "What the fuck Satine" he asked shocked at her outburst.  
"Your a monster, a murderer, a criminal Christen. I cant believe your the leader of this... this army, that is tearing the galaxy apart" she yelled at him with tears freely flowing down her face.  
"Satine, the Republic and the Sepristist are doing that with or without my influence, and your right I am all those things. I'm a fucking killer, a cold blooded killer, but don't you dare make me the bad guy here, I'm not here to argue with you." He ended his momentary rant.  
He could tell she was infuriated, but more than that she was... relieved?  
"Then why are you here Christen, why come to my planet, kill innocents and destroy peace, be apart of all this nonsense, why after you have been supposedly free for the past year?" she cried. "You've changed Christen, but your still my friend" she admitted making him smile as he looked her in the eyes, he took a step forward, she didn't move when their faces were inches apart. "Really just a friend Satine" he said playfully which made her frown in anger. She laughed sadly as she rested her head on his. "Christen it's been over 12 years since... we were attracted to each other, but that is gone. Certainly you must know that and I have too much to do. I have a planet to govern, I don't have time to be in love." She spoke making him back up in rejection.  
"I heard everything you said to Obi-Wan, so don't try to pull your political face on me, you know it had never worked before. Only one person could do that and she cheated on me." He said loud enough to let her know he was angry and for Obi-Wan to hear. " I was a slave for 9 years and was tortured because of my force abilities. My family does know I'm alive and that I've been free for the past 2 years. The kids are great; they've really grown up" Christen quickly responded trying to get away from answering questions about his wife or worse in front of Obi-Wan.  
Satine didn't let up, "What about Abigail, how are you guys" she said innocently, Christen couldn't be mad at her, how was she supposed to know, deciding to tell her Christen spoke up.  
" Abigail cheated on me Satine, she has been with another man for the past 10 years." The news hit Satine like a blaster bolt and silence filled the air for a moment before she walked to Christen's chair and pulled him up, making him look into her eyes. She hugged Christen, which caused him to weaken, so he couldn't take the weight anymore and broke down in tears. He wept on Satines shoulder, quietly repeating his wife's name.

Christen found himself sleeping in his private room, wondering how he got here. He remembered his little meltdown. Looking into his hands he sighed knowing there were going to be lots of questions coming. Standing up and walking out into the main living room he saw Satine and Obi-Wan on the center couch watching the holo news. Sensing Christen they both looked up. Satine was the first to move, quickly helping Christen. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

Christen stared down at his glass of blue milk before finally looking up at her.  
"I am feeling better, thank you" he replied dryly, downing the glass, Christen looked over at Satine with empty eyes. "Do you always wear that armor?" Satine quietly asked, but before Christen could answer, Obi-Wan decides to answer for him. "Oh please, I've known him for the past two and a half years and never once have I seen him in anything else," he spat gaining a slap across the face from Satine.

Turning to see Christen had walked towards the cockpit, leaving Satine even more confused than before. He flatly called out to them " Better strap yourselves in we're gonna be coming out of hyperspace any minute". In the cockpit Christen sat down as the ship lurched forward coming out of hyperspace, a scream rang out from behind him. Sighing, Christen knew the Jedi did not listen to his warning.

Seeing the surface of Tython and the mass military that surrounded the planet was a normal sight for Christen, but for his friends it was not so easily taken in. Satine and Obi-Wan walked into the cockpit, gasping as they saw the thousands of destroyers and military presence. "What is this place? Who are they?" Satine asked, in a slightly terrified voice. "How is this possible?" was all that obi-wan could say.  
"This is my military force, The Savior's army, we are part of the unknown regions government, The Savior's Republic. This is also my training and home world of my order," Christen explained. As he spoke he could see the face of the Jedi frown when he said, "His Order."  
"Christen how did you get all of this?" Satine asked, Christen turned to her and Obi-Wan, after turning on autopilot and replied, "I have acquired a large amount of wealth over the years and I've been making my own government and military. It's wonderful isn't it!" He paused for a moment and continued, " I know this looks like I'm trying to take over the galaxy, but that's not what I'm doing... at least for now. My operations span from the Rishi maze, all the way to the depths of wild space." Christen chuckled.

"The Republic and Jedi need to be notified of this," Obi-Wan quickly said, reaching for his comlink with his good hand. "I'm sorry Obi-wan but I can't let you do that," Christen replied while raising his hand shooting orange lighting into the temple of the jedi master, earning a high pitched scream from Satine. "What in the force is wrong with you Christen," she yelled as she hit his Chest. She quickly ran to Obi-Wan's side. Christen followed, standing on the opposite side of the jedi's body and nonchalantly said, "Don't worry, it was just a memory and sleep liquid. It should wear off in eight hours."

Christen sighed, knowing it wasn't gonna be easy getting her to help him get the body in the escape pod. "Satine we don't have time for this. I need you to help me get him into the escape pod so I can send him back to Coruscant" he explained calmly. "I get that you have to keep this a secret" she exclaimed as she waved her hands towards the star forge, "But did you have to hurt him? I'll help you, but I need a promise" she declared. "Fine what is it my dragoness" he said in a daring voice, calling Satine there chosen names for each other when they were lo...' no that is in the past. Satine flushed as she heard the name. "I want everything that you are keeping secret from the galaxy" she exclaimed proudly. Christen looked down at her and said, "Ok just help me get him in the pod, we don't have much time. I have a big transport coming soon to Tython from the Rishi galaxy." Christen exasperated holding Obi-Wan's body on his shoulder. 


End file.
